Although action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger has had to listen to all sorts of criticism over the years: The ex-bodybuilder has shown a certain versatility. The unstoppable killing machine from the future was just as easy to buy as the out-of-place US cop in kindergarten or the muscle-bound barbarian. But can you imagine the huge Austrian, who became a symbol of the American dream, as a loyal Soviet policeman?

If so, then you can give yourself a pat on the back. If not, you probably have a Schwarzenegger gap in your film resume – but you can easily close it: Today, on December 21st, 2024, RTL 2 is showing the buddy cop action thriller “from 10:05 p.m.RedHeat“.

In it, Schwarzenegger plays alongside the comedy star James Belushi the toughest dog the Moscow police have to offer. And it’s really hard because… Although “Red Heat” is an action comedy, the film has a 18+ age rating in Germany – which is why only the edited version can be expected on free TV today. It should only flicker uncut across the TV screens from 11 p.m.

If you want to experience “Red Heat” in full length on television, as directed by the director Walter Hill planned, you have to stay up later: the film will be repeated unabridged from 3:35 a.m. Or you can resort to streaming. Among other things, the film is available for purchase and rental Prime Video available:

“Red Heat” on Prime Video*

Good to know: If you have the Prime Video Channel MOVIE LEGENDS* If you have a subscription, you can even stream “Red Heat” at no additional cost.

“Red Heat”: Arnie as a Russian on a mission to the USA

The Moscow drug investigator Ivan Danko (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has long been following the Soviet drug lord Rostavili (Ed O’Ross) on the heels. When he runs away to the USA, the convinced anti-capitalist follows him. However, in Chicago, a police officer dies due to poor communication between the Soviet and US authorities. Now the taciturn, brutal Danko and the loud-mouthed US cop Art Ridzik (James Belushi) have to pull together…

Director Walter Hill is something like the godfather of the modern buddy cop film: In “Only 48 hoursIn 1982 he had Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy meet each other and exchange pointed verbal attacks in a rough and exciting action. In doing so, he created the blueprint for the kind of “opposites attract” detective stories that would come out five years later.Lethal Weapon” was supposed to blow up into a sensational success – and since then the scheme has become an integral part of the action cinema and crime genre.

In “Red Heat,” Hill consciously takes a more comedic approach than in many of his other films, and for Schwarzenegger, too, the 1988 hit was an approach to humorous territory: “Twins” only followed a short time later, and “Kindergarten Cop” only two years later . But Hill and Schwarzenegger, who was primarily known at the time for films like “Predator” and “The Phantom Commando,” couldn’t quite get out of their skin:

The film, peppered with a handful of precisely placed sayings from the Austrian and numerous jokes from Belushi, is a success some very bloody spikes of violence shaken up that you wouldn’t actually expect in such a comedic buddy cop production. That doesn’t make up for the rather unrounded figure drawing – but it does The level of quick jokes and exciting shootouts is high enough that “Red Heat” works as fun, undemanding after-work entertainment with oomph. And you can get even more action entertainment in this streaming tip:

Stream tonight: The last really good action thriller with Steven Seagal

This is a revised republication of an article that previously appeared on FILMSTARTS.

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