Heat

One of Burt Reynold's best performances. Having said that, the movie has some definite shortcomings. Mex's dreams of Venice seem awfully thin. The part where he interacts with MacNichols is much better than the Mafia stuff that the film degenerates into. All in all, however, a much better film than you'd think. (for all its obscurity)

I didn't realize that film was made in '86, a year for film that I loved. The cover makes the film looks more than it is, which it isn't. This is a 90+ minute film that doesn't use too many scenes (for some just drag) or story structure that basically goes out the window for the stretch, and we wonder what the hell. And we kind of wonder what Burt is doing in this too. I mean if you're interested in watching Burt (a private eye here) win, and blow ten grand, go ahead. It's kind of interesting, especially Burt losing so bad, it causes the dealer and good friend (Scarwid) to draw tears. The paper thin revenge tale (oh, yes this from a book) of course is set in Vegas, where a close lady friend of Burt's (Young) has been up pretty bad by these three guys, two real beefy, and we know how dangerous Burt can get when provoked, causing him to do some really serious damage, the other guy, a thin sissy, faggoty type with ties to the mafia. Him and Burt meet late together in the Mafia chambers, you could say, but prefore to this, and after he does some irreparable damage, he takes some nice bundles of cash, which he gives to his avenged lady friend, who watches the show Burt gives, then skips town, where a new client, (Ally McBeal's Peter MaCnichol) befriends Burt, looking to him as his teacher, trying to make him stronger, than the whining loser he is. I really did like the scenes between these two. Yes, this is a film that will disappoint a lot of viewers, with high expectations, where they brought down, bad, but give it some more views. Very well shot, some moments near the end are shot very dark, bringing to mind the shot torture scene in Sharky's Machine.

Nick Scaliente (Reynolds) is a tough guy who is obsessed with gambling and lives a sleazy life in Las Vegas, working as a body guard. When his girl friend is beaten up by a spoiled rich kid, Nick decides to get even with the guys. This is a typical Burt Reynolds action flick of the mid eighties (like Stick and Malone), it isn't Burt's greatest film, but it isn't his worst (this `honor' goes to Crazy Six). The script was penned by legend William Goldman, so the story is interesting and sustains the attention during its whole running time, although I felt that the film could have been a little shorter. The action scenes are well-done, and I loved the final showdown between Burt and the mob guys, on the streets of Las Vegas. The photography accentuates the two sides of Las Vegas – the glamorous and the deadly and treacherous sides - the town never looked so bright and shining, kudos to the art director and photography .Burt gives as usual a terrific and powerful performance, how can you forget that brutal scene in which he goes to the spoiled kid's place,full of body guards, and beats them up to death. Cynic, charming but menacing, there are moments when Burt gives that hateful and resented look, you wonder if he is going to chop your head off in a second. Heat was originally intended to be directed by acclaimed director Robert Altman, but discussions with producer Elliot Kastner made him abandon the project, and that's a shame, because even without Altman, Heat is a decent thriller. With Altman as director, it could have been a lot better.

I found this movie in a drunken stupor in the cheap movie bin at Wal Mart, and being the Burt Reynolds fan that I am, I picked it up. What that DVD case contained was one of the most ridiculous ever. Burt Reynolds break's a dude's leg by kicking him, slashes another guy's face with a credit card...and that's just the start of all the fun! AT the end of the film, he pushes a wall over on a bad guy, inpales on with a medal rod onto a circuit board, electrocuting him...then the best one of the film...he throws gasoline all over some poor shmuck, then Burt proceeds to jump 30 feet in the air, kick out a light bulb, which sets the gas-soaked man ablaze. Oh yeah, he also uses his the Force to pick up a butter knife when startled by the guy from Ghostbusters 2. COnfused yet? Hope so. This movie will make ya that way, so be prepared, young ones. I give this movie my best rating possible---5 bong hits out of 5!!!

Even though it came out a few months earlier, this great Burt Reynold's obscurity, "Heat," could have easily been a sequel to his other great 80s obscurity, "Malone." Once you changed a couple of small plot points to make the films consistent, you'd still have exactly the same character at the center of each. Burt acts the same, looks the same, dresses the same, and his character in Heat has a very similar background and the exact same skills as the one on "Malone." In fact, the two films even share some of the same lines of dialog (almost). In "Malone" the young girl tells Burt's character that he must like violence. Burt replies that "No, I'm just good at it--there's a difference." In "Heat" Peter McNichol asks Burt if he's a naturally violent person. To which Burt replies "No, I'm just good at it." I mean, really--could that be a total coincidence?

Another similarity--"Malone" was basically a old fashioned Western in the "Shane" mode. "Heat" is basically a Spaghetti Western in the revenge mode.

I love both of these flicks and wish they'd get decent DVD releases.