High Heat is a 2022 American action comedy thriller film about an ex-KGB spy turned chef who has to defend her restaurant from the Mafia.
Directed by Zach Golden (The Escape of Prisoner 614) from a screenplay written by James Pedersen. Produced by Jordan Beckerman, Zola Elgart Glassman, Jesse Korman and Jordan Yale Levine.
The movie stars Olga Kurylenko (The Princess; White Elephant; Sentinelle; The Room; Mara; Vampire Academy), Don Johnson, Dallas Page, Kaitlin Doubleday, Chris Diamantopoulos and Erik Bloomquist.
Plot synopsis:
An ex-KGB operative turned chef, Ana (Olga Kurylenko) is targeted by the local Mafia in a hit on her new restaurant to collect on her husband’s (Don Johnson) debt. Now, Ana must rely upon her lethal skills as she goes on a deadly rampage to take out the entire crime syndicate one by one to save her restaurant and survive the night…
Reviews:
“There’s a sense of humor to keep the feature approachable, and while the screenplay struggles with the demands of exposition, Pedersen is putting in more of an effort than what’s typically offered for the genre, while director Zach Golden (The Escape of Prisoner 614) aims to maintain some momentum to the film, creating a few lively sequences of violence and intimidation, and he knows to keep the picture as short as possible.” 3.5 out of 5, Blu-ray.com
“High Heat‘s young writer James Pedersen makes an effort to inject some humorous Tarantino-style dialogue, but the villain, Dom, is as feeble as are Ray’s efforts to hold him off. We never really care about the situation and we know that Olga is going to trounce the villains. The fights are just performances and are made to feel static because they’re confined so much to one location.” Chris Knipp
“Some scenes, played for comedy, go on too long, and the jokey scenarios and dialogue become annoying. This, on top of the film’s by-the-numbers aspects, mean that High Heat can be surprisingly boring despite its high number of fighting/action scenes.” Common Sense Media
” …Kurylenko and Johnson definitely came to play. She handles the action like a pro, while he delivers the swaggering attitude. The premise is pretty familiar, but the characters and death scenes are notably colorful. Recommended for fans of Johnson and Kurylenko, who will not be disappointed…” J.B. Spins
“With decent fights, some witty back and forth, and an appealing enough cast, High Heat delivers a fun if disposable actioner. It’s down and dirty, to the point, and coasts on certain compelling charms, and while it won’t blow any minds, it offers up a nice diversion.” Grade: C+ The Last Thing I See
“At only 85 minutes including credits, High Heat knows that it’s a B-movie and is fighting an uphill battle for attention spans to last. Pacing is well managed in the edit by Dawson Taylor (Fear Inc., The Old Ways), who keeps the exposition dumps to a minimum and the fights mostly intelligible. It lacks a bit of focus and could’ve had one or two more action sequences, but the film keeps moving with ease.” 3.5 out of 5, Voices from the Balcony
YouTube reviews:
Trailer:
Release:
In the US, High Heat was released by Saban Films theatrically, on Digital and On-Demand (VOD) on December 16, 2022.
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