Taking The Heat

TAKING THE HEAT looks great. Each luminous frame glows with first-rate cinematography. Cast and crew comprise proven and attractive talent. The film itself? Agony, an example of what happens when all Hollywood's resources serve a lousy script and a lowest-common-denominator approach.

The instantly dislikeable hero is Michael Norell (Tony Goldwyn), a Wall Street yuppie who gawks from the back room of a sportswear store as mob boss Tommy Canard (Alan Arkin) punishes the proprietor for failure to pay protection; Canard uses the victim as a human golf tee and turns his head into a divot (this is apparently meant to be taken seriously). Norell phones the police, bu...