Hey kids, it’s special guest reviewer / journalist Nanni Cobretti !

————

“Danko.” “You’re welcome.”

Good times… Red Heat is notorious for being the first US movie shot on the Red Square, and it shows.

It’s 1988, Perestrojka just kicked in, so it’s time to capitalise on it and show Americans that Russians can be good guys - even heroes. So the trailer starts with a list of the most basic stereotypes about Russian cops, perfectly summed up in a big guy from Austria doing his second best robot impression (Arnie).

Then you get to the mandatory buddy movie theme, and surprise: it’s Jim Belushi! He was a funny man once. Or at least, there was a time when people would give him a chance in a big budget movie. As you can guess, that time ended pretty fast. Still, it’s kinda weird to see him as the Axel Foley-ish motormouth white cop with moderate belly and no rules.

So you’re basically forced to have your faith in Walter Hill. After all, he’s one of the best action directors of all times, and kind of started the whole buddy genre with 48 Hours. He’s probably working on commission here, which is the case with a lot of his movies from the late eighties, but he manages to deliver a solid job anyway.

To top it off, you get a hint of the AWESOME bus chase. I remember being at the theater with my dad who was absolutely blown away by it, asking me if I’d ever seen a bus chase before. Nope, and neither since.

All in all, the Red Heat trailer is a perfect souvenir of a very specific time in history. A few months later Rambo 3 came out.  Russians were still the baddies in that one, so it tanked.