I Watch Films: Red Heat

 

Red Heat

In Moscow Captain Ivan Danko (Arnold Schwarzenegger) breaks up a drug gang led by Georgian gangster Viktor Rostavili. Rostavili kills Danko’s partner and escapes to the USA, then is picked up on a traffic charge in Chicago. Danko is sent to extradite him, though under orders not to admit that drugs or gangs exist in the Soviet Union.

In Chicago Danko is escorted by Detective Sergeant Art Ridzik (James Belushi). Danko is stoic, understands English and America a little better than he pretends. Ridzik is loud, foul-mouthed, sarcastic and constantly getting into trouble with his bosses (one of whom is played by Lawrence Fishburne). Danko interrogates Rostavili, confiscates a key. On the way to the airport they are attacked by Rostavili’s men, who rescue him and kill Ridzik’s partner.

The rest of the film has Danko and Ridzik as odd partner rogue cops trying to track down Rostavili, while Rostavili wants to get back the key. The key will let him get the drugs he bought from the American gang (the Cleanheads, whose leader Danko and Rizik meet in prison – he’s a black radical who has a bit of vulgar Marxist banter). There’s a lot of violence, a little bit of cultural misunderstanding and some international brotherhood of cop going on.

Watch This: Excellent example of violent 80s buddy cop films
Don’t Watch This: Two cops disobey orders, cause damage and get people killed in pursuit of revenge