A 1930's gangster/detective yarn about a Kansas City police lieutenant on the trail of underworld thugs and the private detective that keeps getting in his way.
Scott T. Rivers | Los Angeles, CA USA | 07/03/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
""City Heat" (1984) is a nostalgic throwback to those Spencer Tracy-Clark Gable vehicles of the late 1930s. It's lightweight stuff, but Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds make a good team in this Prohibition-era caper. The star chemistry compensates for a weak script and troubled production history (Clint selected director Richard Benjamin after a falling out with original collaborator Blake Edwards - alias Sam O. Brown in the final credits). Though a disappointment with critics and audiences, Clint and Burt have done much worse."
Under-rated
cmyth | Albany, Oregon United States | 07/10/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I loved this movie and I feel its very under rated. Yes the story was a little on the weak side but there was some fantastic action, good comedy and a wonderful setting. Too bad it didn't do well in the box office because a follow up would have been awesome."
Completely underrated movie
M. D. Wallace | Orlando, FL | 12/10/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm not sure what people expected of this movie, but if you forget about who the actors are in this movie and just watch it for fun, it's a hoot! Sure, the plot's a little thin, but it's a comedy, who cares. Enjoy, it's fun and funny."
Great film
R. Legendre | New Orleans, LA | 07/10/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I love movies set in this era. I love the clothes, the cars, the music; it was just a simpler time in America's history.
Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood play off of each other so well and the one-liners are hilarious. Great plot, great comedy, and great fun.
Reynolds when Eastwood walks unannounced into the office: "I didn't hear you knock."
Eastwood: "What a relief. I thought I was going deaf."
These two constantly banter like this throughout the whole fim and it's always funny.
Give this fun flick a try.
"
Watch it for the laughs, not the acting
Kyle Tolle | Phoenix, Arizona USA | 05/10/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"For a movie made in the mid 80's, you'd think pairing up 2 superstars like Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds would make for a smash hit but it just wasn't meant to be. The plot isn't terribly exciting and the acting didn't raise any eyebrows but there was just enough humor and a few goofy situations to keep it from total destruction.
It's the 1930's and the time of prohibition, gangland activity, and all the nefarious activity that goes with it. Eastwood plays the seasoned, grizzled lieutenant in the police department trying to keep a hold on his city while Reynolds is his former partner now turned private eye who just can't seem to stay out of trouble. These two trade wisecracks and insults throughout the film and put themselves into some corny predicaments that merit a few laughs here and there. It seems that they're both trying to outdo each other also so that distracts a little but not too much. They finally team up together to save the day and roust the gangsters in a predictable and unexciting ending.
There's not a whole lot of saving graces other that what has already been mentioned but at least you can see some different, although hollow, acting performances by Madeline Kahn, Rip Torn, Richard Roundtree, Jane Alexander, and Irene Cara. It's not enough to rescue the film but if you go into watching this with the idea that it's just a guilty pleasure and nothing more, you probably won't feel so bad about wasting an hour and a half of your time.