Midnight Heat (1996), also known as "Blackout" and "A.K.A" is an B-level
actioner starring the former football phenom known as The Boz, real name
Brian Bosworth. The film opens as he is leaving his job as an extremely
muscle-bound but nonetheless mild-mannered bank manager, and is knocked
unconscious. He awakes with memory loss. He doesn't recognize his gorgeous
wife or their palatial home, but keeps having nightmares about a darker
existence having to do with prison, white supremacist tattoos, and violence.
When his wife is killed and an attempt is made on his life, he has enough
clues to send him to L.A. There he teams up with a spunky cocktail waitress
to solve the mystery and wipe out a huge nasty gang, as only a
mild-mannered bank manager can.
The story is not bad, if a little obvious in that most will guess
the ending long before the credits roll. The acting could have been better
as well, so it's a B movie all the way, albeit without the guilty pleasures
one would expect from the B world. (There is virtually no nudity.)
On the other hand, the action is fast-paced and the flick is rarely
seen, hence of interest to some and an easy enough watch for those who are
curious about the footballer who would be Olivier, or at least
Schwarzenegger.
If you are not familiar with our grading system, you need to
read the
explanation, because the grading is not linear. For example, by
our definition, a
C is solid and a C+ is a VERY good movie. There are very few Bs
and As. Based on our descriptive system, this film is a:
