Killer Heat wants very much to be a clever, noir mystery with a couple surprising twists. Unfortunately, it is not nearly as clever as it hopes, and the twists are not surprising at all. It’s a cliché-ridden mystery with paper thin characters that leaves Killer Heat feeling lukewarm at best.
Based on a short story from novelist Jo Nesbo, Killer Heat tells the story of Nick Dali (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a private investigator called to the island of Crete to handle a job for Penelope Vardakis (Shailene Woodley). She wants him to investigate the death of her brother-in-law, who also happens to be her husband’s twin (both played by Richard Madden). His death has been ruled a tragic accident, but she believes it may be murder. Nick begins to investigate, but the Vardakis family is wealthy and powerful and will not tolerate anyone poking into their business.
Let’s start with the positives. The movie does look great. Set on the island of Crete, the scenery is absolutely beautiful. Whether it is wide angle shots of the landscape or simply following a car as it twists through mountain roads, it all looks incredible. You understand why a family of opulence would continue living here. Heck, I want to go live there. However, the scenery being the most positive thing tells you a lot about this movie.
The cast is also pretty good even if their characters leave a lot to be desired. Gordon-Levitt is always excellent and usually throws himself into every role. That is true here, but this is far from his most interesting character. He does what he can, but the script does not give much to work with. The movie tries hard to establish Nick as a hard-boiled detective with a troubled past, but in doing so, creates a character that is little more than a cliché. Flashbacks to show his past, which may have ended in tragedy, do little to elevate the character into one worth caring about.
Woodley and Madden also do their best with what they are given, but both their characters are very thin. Woodley’s character appears to have some depth at first, but little is done to progress her story past the initial scenes. For the most part, she is simply the rich, unhappy wife archetype. Madden rarely comes across as anything more than the angry, rich guy. Neither are bad in their roles, there’s just so little there. There is no character in the movie that is truly interesting. And the dialogue can be quite wooden at times.
Where Killer Heat really fails though, is with the story. Right from the start it wants to establish itself as a mystery. It’s not much of one though. Many will probably guess correctly at the solution within minutes. For those that do, it will take away much of the intrigue (such that there is) in the story. For those that don’t, what plays out on screen feels so cliché that it may fail to hold any interest anyway. Even when it is successful in establishing a noir vibe (done primarily through hearing Nick’s inner monologue), the story is so half-hearted that it never generates enough suspense. Even a third-act action sequence feels like it was thrown together last minute. Killer Heat simply comes across as if it was all pulled from better movies you’ve already seen.
That is a shame as Killer Heat had potential. It might have fared better had it simply been a thriller. Removing any notion of a mystery, showing what happened right away, might have allowed the story to explore the characters and to develop a more engaging plot rather than concern itself with keeping the mystery going. If the script had focused on providing thrills rather than surprise, I can see where this could have been an entertaining watch. As is though, it was disappointing.
While Killer Heat pulls together a talented cast in a beautiful location, it’s central story never elevates above standard detective story clichés. The mystery at the heart of the film simply doesn’t hold enough interest, and there are little thrills to be had beyond that. Unless you’re a big fan of one of the actors in Killer Heat, I would suggest you find something else to watch.
Have you seen Killer Heat? Are you planning to? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.