‘High Heat’ review: Kinetic Mayhem and Dark Comedy

“High heat” is a shout. While in summary it may seem like standard issue type fare suitable for quick consumption on digital and streaming platforms, this satisfying mix of crime thriller and dark comedy plays almost like sending a wink and a nod to such cookie-cutter time-killers. In fact, director Zac Golden and director James Pedersen have gone so far as to deliberately emphasize the obvious label of a tight-budget indie production — nearly all of the action unfolds in just two places, a restaurant and a parking garage — while tying together clichés and conventions with self-aware wit in a fast-paced package. Better yet, everyone on screen seems to be allowed in on the joke – but no one takes that knowledge as license to break character or even cause the fourth wall.

The film is engaging from the start, with composer Max Di Carlo’s brisk opening theme underscoring a colorful retro credits sequence (by Danny Oakley and Out of Our Minds Studios) that already makes it possible to sit through an endless list of executive producers. From there, we drop into the barely controlled chaos of the kitchen during opening night at Etoile Rouge, as chef and co-owner Anna Abramov (Olga Kurylenko) orders all the salads (but with a less abrasive degree) than Gordon Ramsay. At the front, diners are greeted with a dazzling smile, pleasing charm, and a “bon appetit!” By Anna’s husband and partner, Ray, played by Don Johnson in silver fox mode.

The grand opening is on its way to a smash hit until the arrival of Mick (Evan Martin), son of Dom (Dallas Page), a mobster who has invested in Ray’s previous restaurant ventures, none of which have turned profitable. This time, Dom devised a plot to ensure a quick return on the $1.3 million Ray lent to fund Etoile Rouge – i.e. burning the place for the insurance money.

Naturally, Ray never says anything about his demanding investor to Anna — who, oddly enough, never asks her husband where he got the seed money for her long-cherished dream of opening a world-class restaurant. Then again, every husband and wife keeps secrets from each other, right? As it turns out, Anna has a fairly decent structure in her closet: She’s a retired KGB agent trained to inflict grievous bodily harm with everything from automatic weapons to a handful of celery stalks. Mick and Don have a prime location in a parking garage across the street; And the more they sent henchmen to commit arson and the worse it was in Red Star, the more corpses it would get.

Rest assured, however: There are many good laughs in between (and often during) bursts of the rough stuff. Dom hides a little bit of his deep disappointment in his son—”This wasn’t supposed to be hard, Mick! That’s why I sent you to take care of her!”—and must stifle his anger once again while negotiating overtime rates with the leader of the Freelance Killers. Even while fending off repeated assaults on their restaurant, Anna and Ray find time to squabble like a traditional married couple. She said, “No wonder you got divorced twice!” He said, “That’s just below the belt, don’t you think?” However, Ray insists that, despite all his failures, he will stand by his woman. and their restaurant. “65 percent of the service staff quit while on shift,” he says. “I will not be one of them.”

And speaking of couples: the funniest antics come from Mimi (Caitlin Doubleday), Anna’s mortal enemy from her KGB days, and Tom (Chris Diamantopoulos), a skilled sniper and amazingly patient husband. They bring their “brilliant” twin daughters (Bianca D’Ambrosio, Chiara D’Ambrosio) with them when they venture to Red Star to enhance and/or kill Anna because, the last time they left the girls home alone, they threw an unsupervised party.

It would be unfair to reveal how things turned out for any of the aforementioned people – or for Gary (Jackie Long), an ace masseuse who’s understandably rocked while caught in the crossfire. Let’s leave it like this: High Hit is a movie where everyone gets exactly what they’re going for. Well, with the possible exception of someone who makes a blunt remark about the apparent age difference between Anna and Ray. This one gets off relatively easy.



(Visited 20 times, 1 visits today)

Related posts