Product: Heart (1987)
Rating: 3.0
Ya gotta have heart (and a bullet-proof vest)
HEART (1987) is very much a remake an excellent noir, THE SET-UP (1949) (VHS) (DVD). Unfortunately, Brad Davis is no Robert Ryan (he actually boxed in his youth) and this script cannot be saved by a good cast.Here Davis is Eddie, a middle-aged journeyman boxer who's set to take on an undefeated up-and-comer, Salvador Manuella (WBC junior welterweight champ Billy Costello in his only screen appearance). What Eddie doesn't know is that trainer Nicky (Steve Buscemi) has made arrangements with the mob for his fighter to lose.Eddie holds his own against Manuella and in the last round the decision could go either way, so he's finally informed that if the kid isn't victorious both he and Nicky are mob-style dead meat. Eddie refuses to take a dive and wins by a K.O. Nicky runs but is caught by the gangsters. Eddie faces them alone and is brought to a warehouse for payback...Lengthy training sequences are reminiscent of ROCKY (1976) (VHS) (DVD), but again, Davis, who is best remembered for MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (1978) (VHS) (DVD) is no Sly Stallone, and Buscemi still hasn't found his psychopath screen persona.As of 11/09, the only available DVD of HEART was discontinued by its manufacturer.