If High Heat is an indication that Don Johnson is joining the ranks of the so-called "geezer teasers," then at least he's in good company. He's also doing a better job of choosing projects than actors like Al Pacino, John Travolta, and Morgan Freeman, who are among the aging stars cast in small roles in B-movie thrillers so they can be extensively promoted in marketing materials. Johnson has a fairly substantial supporting role in High Heat, although he disappears for certain stretches of the movie, and he's not just phoning in a performance that has little bearing on the plot. He's an integral part of this lively and fun action comedy, which recalls the work of Joe Carnahan, just on a significantly smaller budget.
The main star of High Heat is Olga Kurylenko, who plays Ana, a chef celebrating the opening night of her new restaurant, Etoile Rouge. It's her first restaurant as head chef, thanks to her husband Ray (Johnson), who's the owner and Ana's biggest supporter. Everything seems to be going well until a pair of gangsters arrive near closing time, warning Ray that "it's tonight," although exactly what ominous event must occur that night isn't exactly clear at first. Both Ray and Ana have been keeping secrets from each other, and those secrets are about to collide.
It turns out that Ray is in debt to some dangerous people, to the tune of nearly $1.3 million, and crime boss Dom (former pro wrestler Diamond Dallas Page) has determined that the only way for him to collect his money is to burn down Etoile Rouge and cash in on the insurance. Dom sends his screw-up son Mick (Ivan Martin) to accomplish what they think will be an easy task, but they don't count on Ana offering some serious resistance. Ray never told her about his dealings with the mob, but she never told him that before she was a chef, she was a KGB agent, and she has a particular set of skills that make her a formidable opponent for Dom and his goons.
Kurylenko has been quietly building an impressive action resume in underrated B-movies like the French Netflix thriller Sentinelle, and she's excellent as the fierce, proud Ana, who isn't going to let anything get in the way of her achieving her dreams. Director Zach Golden playfully introduces Ana's fighting prowess as she dispatches Dom's first two henchmen with a frying pan and later pulls a hidden machine gun out of a box of potatoes. The gangsters underestimate her at first, but soon they're calling in reinforcements, and Ana has to call in some help of her own.
High Heat devotes a substantial amount of its brief 84-minute running time to Ana's former associate, Mimi (Kaitlin Doubleday), and her husband, Tom (Chris Diamantopoulos), who are still immersed in the spy game that Ana left behind. They're living a sort of distorted version of suburban married bliss, dressed a little bit like a 1950s sitcom couple and dragging their teenage daughters along in a minivan on their way to help Ana. The exaggerated bickering between Mimi and Tom, as they argue about their marriage counseling and get mocked by their sullen kids, is a little cartoonish, and sometimes High Heat pushes the comedy part of its action-comedy a little too far.
The relationship between Ana and Ray is more understated and more convincing, and Kurylenko and Johnson have strong chemistry as two guarded people who have to learn that they can actually trust each other. There are some pointed jokes about Johnson's age, and Golden smartly doesn't try to make him look like an action hero. Johnson still gets his own showcase as he eventually takes down some bad guys. Even when Ray is tied up at the mercy of Dom and his crew, Johnson wields his snark as well as he wields a weapon. The gangsters -- especially Mick with his tracksuit, gold chain, big glasses, and slicked-back hair -- are a bit generic, but they serve their purpose, and screenwriter James Pedersen gives them occasional moments of humor and personality.
The action is key to the success of a movie like High Heat, and Golden delivers with exciting, well-choreographed fight scenes and some entertainingly gruesome kills. The set-up is efficient, and the pacing never lags, even when taking detours with supporting characters. Everyone in the cast puts their full effort into the lighthearted material, from Kurylenko as the haunted former spy to Page as the exasperated mob boss. Seeing older stars like Johnson pop up on the posters for movies like High Heat is usually a sign to prepare for disappointment, but Johnson is just as engaged here as the rest of the actors. Like everything about High Heat, his performance is a pleasant surprise amid the steady stream of forgettable action B-movies.
High Heat opens Friday, Dec. 16 in select theaters and on VOD.