Burt Reynolds wants to go to Venice

HEAT (1986)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

 Burt Reynolds is an actor who has so much magnetism and charisma that he can lift his right or left eyebrow, smile a little, shrug his shoulders and say so much without uttering one syllable. So much talent, spread and squandered on so many futile efforts. "Heat" is among them, an alleged action thriller that thrives on the absurd and preposterous and says nil.

Mind you, I do not expect an action thriller to always have something to say nor do I expect a Burt Reynolds flick to be anything other than a sparkling diamond in the rough. But let us consider the opening sequence. Burt is some mean drunk at a bar who hassles a woman waiting for her date and a proposition of marriage. He harasses her to no end and the date shows up, telling Burt to leave. They exit the bar and a fight ensues where the scrawny-looking date actually has the upper hand, or the upper punch. He knocks out Burt and his date is impressed. It was all a ruse you see, and that could have been a sweet setup for a comedy about how Burt Reynolds is always playing tough and mean only to be roughed up by a weakling to impress a fiancee. That could have been a major stroke of inspiration, especially from screenwriter William Goldman ("Misery," "All the President's Men") who is not known for such comedic sensibilities.

Travel with Burt

Instead we are saddled with a movie that goes nowhere fast. Burt plays yet another tough guy named Escalante, who might be a bodyguard at a casino though he looks more like James Bond. He also helps out a young troubled girl (Karen Young) who is roughed up and raped by some scrawny-looking rich kid in a blue robe. A Mafia Don eventually enters the picture...oh, why go on? Peter MacNicol is some other rich, scrawny-looking guy (I sense a pattern) who wants to hire Escalante to help teach him how to fight back. How noble. All I learned from the training exercises is that in a violent situation, when in doubt with those fists of fury, aim for the tender ball sack or tear off an ear!

Escalante's character is so mysterious that either he is a Vietnam Vet and current bodyguard, or he works at a dingy travel agency (it looks like one) because the guy has a major need to go to Venice. He is also adept at fighting and never uses a gun, and has a gambling problem. Or maybe he needs a lot of money so he can stay in Venice. Either way, this interminable bore of a movie is not really about anything - just a series of flimsy, illogical excuses to show close-ups of Burt Reynolds. In one exceedingly ill-written scene, Escalante somehow convinces a villain to off himself! No way! For some seeing Burt in anything might be sufficient justification and, for others, "Heat" is a reminder of the semi-interminable celluloid waste of Burt Reynolds.