Recently, I’ve been on an incredible kick of mystery and crime/thriller type films. Silence of the Lambs, The Fugitive, and Insomnia have been a few of my recent picks. Beyond that, I am also a huge fan of the private eye films like Knives Out and Kenneth Branagh’s Hercule Poirot adaptations are always fun. So, when I saw the trailer for a detective film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley and Richard Madden that’s set in Greece, just 2 weeks prior to its release, it piqued my interest. From that point I’ve been looking forward to watching Killer Heat. Last week, it finally came out.
Killer Heat follows the story of Nick Bali (Gordon-Levitt), a private-eye-for-hire brought in to investigate the death of Elias Vardakis (Madden), a member of the incredibly wealthy and powerful Vardakis family. Among the suspects include Elias’ identical twin brother Leo (also Madden), Elias’ widow Penelope, who hired Nick in the first place, and other members of the family.
And if you think you can guess this movie’s “Big Twist” from that plot summary, then you’re probably right on the nose. Killer Heat‘s biggest fault is that it’s wholly predictable. From the first 5 minutes of the story, you’ve solved the big mystery. After that, all of the intrigue that defines a mystery film drops off the face of the Earth.
It’s like going into a football game and within the first 5 minutes the opposing team has already scored, and your QB just got intercepted. Sure, its football, and you can still enjoy watching it. But you know exactly how the game is going to play out from there.
It’s a shame since there is a clear love for the genre hidden beneath the sun-soaked Greek islands. Classic noir voice overs and great visuals litter the film’s runtime. But when there’s no anticipation of a great mystery or a wild twist, those things fall on deaf ears.
I appreciated, though, how hyper-focused the story is on the mystery. It picks up immediately from the first scene when Nick arrives in Greece, ready to begin his investigation. As soon as the mystery is over, the credits roll. The runtime is only 97 minutes, and Killer Heat wastes no time getting in and getting out as fast as possible. I admire that.
There’s little background to a majority of the characters beyond the fact that they’re obscenely wealthy and powerful. The only character that gets an iota of development is Nick, who we learn as the movie progresses comes from a broken household with a wife who is unfaithful. It feels cheaply done though.
But through all of that is a mystery that still feels fun to watch. Maybe I am naturally inclined to enjoy mysteries more than others, but I felt that Killer Heat was just easily digestible enough to get through without complaint. Sure, there are strange dialogue choices. Maybe the actors aren’t exactly in it to win awards. But it’s still fun to watch Joseph Gordon-Levitt and company parade around Greece in gorgeous set pieces and wearing designer clothes.
Final Thoughts
Is Killer Heat a perfect movie? Undoubtedly not. It’s so utterly predictable for a mystery film which can be a killer for a lot of films. And while it’s surely going to advance into its rightful place in the ether of forgettable streaming titles, I think it was just digestible enough to warrant a watch for fans of the genre. In the end, I found myself looking forward to the next film in the Nick Bali saga. That is commendable in its own right.
