2.5/4  Red Heat Quick Review
I kinda liked this movie. But, only kinda.

5/5 Mayhem and Carnage and Arnold!
  by Chapulina R (Tovarischi Imports, USA/RUS)
Arnold Schwartzenegger in the role of humorless, ultra-disciplined Soviet police-captain Vanya Danko, teamed with Chicago PD screw-up Art Ritsek (Jim Belushi), to track a Georgean drug kingpin... this is one of Arnold's greatest, but least-appreciated, action-films. The best scenes take place in Russia, in the banya (public bath), over the rooftops around Red Square, in the mafiya cafe. Arnold's Russian, spoken with his Austrian accent, is pretty terrific! What impressed me was the film's close attention to detail: Even Danko's handwriting and numbers were authentically Russian-style. The machismo of the personal battle between Ivan Danko and the smuggler was intensely Russian, as was Danko's unswerving conviction of Soviet superiority. His terse correction of the hotel clerk's question "Is [Viktor] another Russian, like you?" Danko: "Soviet.", is right-on -- Georgeans are not Russians, although many Americans don't know that. The scripting of a Georgean as the loathesome criminal is actually quite revealing, and surely a reflection of the film's "official" Russian input . Despite the grimness of the plot and Arnold's character, there is plenty of dark humor, mainly provided by Belushi's portrayal of undisciplined officer Ritsek. The humor frequently contrasts the strictly indoctrinated Soviet structure with the (to Danko) near-anarchy of American freedom. Much of the mayhem and carnage wrought during the process of Danko's personal war defies credibility; as Ritsek puts it: "Why aren't there any cops around when you need one!" The action genre's obligatory high-speed chase scene was ludicrous, yet appropriately Russian (everything Russian always seems so much "bigger"...). And the protagonists' exchange in the end, in which Vanya gets the better deal, is also typically Russian -- and proves that Danko is not so humorless after all. By the way, this movie (like all of Arnold's action-films) is extremely popular here, where it has been dubbed into the Russian language. Ironically, in the russkiy version, all the obscenities have been deleted from the dialogue.

2/5 Not as good as 1st release
  by L. Biskup (Wellington, Ohio United States)
Don't bother wasting your money if you think you are upgrading like I did. The earlier ARTISAN release is still much better than this special edition. The image is better and ALSO the sound. I don't know what Lions gate thought they were doing, but remastered? no. I compared both several times before writing this even though I only had to compare once. Might as well wait for a HD DVD to come out, this is a waste unless you want the additional features.

4/5 Hillarious and Action Pacted
  by Blaine (USA)
Schwarzenegger and James Belushi make a great team in this crazed action film. Schwarzenegger plays the serious Captain Ivan Danko, a Russian detective. Opposite him, James Belushi, is the comical cop, Art Ridzik, always good for a laugh. Who could guess what would happen when these two got stuck together?

On the downside of the film the beggining is all Russian. You'll be forced to read English subtitles not able to enjoy any of the visuals, until around ten to twenty minutes into the film. Unless of course you speak Russian.

The final word. If you're looking for something to do on a boring afternoon, I recommend sitting back and enjoying Red Heat.

4/5 Our Governator in Blu - awesome price
  by Steve Kuehl (Ben Lomond, CA)
Cannot beat this deal for a fun 1980s film in BD that actually came across as good as can be without Lionsgate dumping too much money into it.

The clarity gave a decent showing - even with the amount of skin tones being shown by our fearless leader in that beginning Russian spa scene. The color was vivid, maybe too much so once they hit the snow with the flesh tones and fake injuries contrasting against the white. But the credit (pink colors) looked clear with no grain at all, and admittedly that DNR thingy (or whatever they call the removal process for some of these upgrades) did not blur/fuzz things at all. The Chicago street scenes looked good and the background signs are actually readable now. The DTS is mostly channeled to the front three, but they managed to add some decent bass here and there.

The supplements are from the 2004 edition in low def, but it is always nice to see that stunt man memorial featurette, recommend that if you pick only one to watch. The included TV spots and such are always nice for a before and after comparison on quality. For what they put into this, and the price being offered I feel you won't be disappointed.

4/5 US-USSR humor before the fall of the Wall
  by Jacques COULARDEAU (OLLIERGUES France)
A Soviet police officer is sent to Chicago to arrest and repatriate a Georgian criminal wanted in the Soviet Union of old. The meeting of this police officer with Chicago police forces and Chicago's crime world, is the source of an ever-present humor. This humor is absolutely hilarious, in a way, showing how the American world and the Soviet world can meet and lead to some kind of understanding, provided each one of the protagonists has a good sense of humor. This humor is developed in language, cultures, situations, actions, personalities and general behaviours. Every sequence has its humorous touch. This film does not lead to any deep reflexion or thinking, even if it is obvious it advocates for opposed cultures to meet and to cooperate in spite of all the wide differences between and among them. It is also obvious it is a film coming from the Soviet times, the end of the Cold War, and aging makes it even better for those of us who have known that period.