Olga Kurylenko and Don Johnson, who have appeared in such high-end efforts as “Quantum of Solace” (2008) in Kurylenko’s case and “Knives Out” (2019) in Johnson’s, demonstrate the fine art of making inferior material look better than it is in the B-movie “High Heat.”
The film begins in a stainless steel kitchen where Ana (Kurylenko) whose name is pronounced Anna or Anya, depending on who’s talking, is owner and head chef on opening night. Her handsome, notably older husband Ray (Johnson) is out front, charming the customers. Soon, it becomes apparent that Ray is in debt to a gangster named Dom (former wrestler Dallas Page, “The Devil’s Rejects”), who has sent his hapless son Mickey (Ivan Martin) to torch the restaurant to collect the insurance and pay off Ray’s debt.
The restaurant is named Etoile Rouge aka Red Star in honor of Ana’s Russian homeland. We will also learn that Ana is “former KGB,” like Vladimir Putin, and that she, unlike Putin, can still kick butt. In fact, Ana is suspiciously like the Geena Davis character in the influential, Shane Black-scripted “The Long Kiss Goodnight” (1996), a film that has spawned dozens of copycats.
