Body Heat
Metascore
78 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
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  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Body Heat is good enough to make film noir play like we hadn't seen it before.
  2. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    88
    An excellent crime drama in the style of Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, and Dashiell Hammett.
  3. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Nathan Rabin
    83
    Kasdan's moody tribute to cinema's dark past set a gold standard for neo-noirs that has seldom been equaled.
  4. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Stuart Swineford
    80
    Aside from the over abundance of rather large glasses and sweaty actors, Body Heat succeeds fabulously, not only as an excellent example of a classic film noir but as a solidly executed production in its own right.
  5. Empire
    Reviewed by: Ian Nathan
    80
    Still regarded as one of the steamiest movie's of all time, Body Heat is a fantastic exponenet of how noir has developed.
  6. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Janet Maslin
    80
    While Body Heat involves murder, fraud, a weak hero led astray and a seductive, double-dealing broad, it also incorporates something new: a sexual explicitness that the old films could only hint at.
  7. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Corliss
    80
    Body Heat is full of meaty characters and pungent performances...a film to be seen at a drive-in, on a heavy summer night, with someone you trust.
  8. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Dave Kehr
    80
    Lawrence Kasdan's 1981 noir fable is highly derivative in its overall conception, but it finds some freshness in its details. All in all, this evokes the spirit of James M. Cain more effectively than the 1981 remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice did.
  9. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Bruce McCabe
    50
    Lawrence Kasdan's Body Heat--an homage to film noir--gets off to a nice start before it becomes entangled in its convoluted and somewhat uninteresting plot machinations.
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  10. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Jay Scott
    50
    Hurt is so good at capturing the charming and chilling Ned that he almost makes up for the film's two primary weaknesses: Kasdan's inexperience and a message of significant unpleasantness. [28 Aug 1981, p.P17]
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.3 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 1 out of 4
  1. AlanM.
    10
    Great Film Noir. My favorite of many great Lawrence Kasdan films, with Kathleen Turner at her sexiest best. Great intrigue and setup.
  2. MichaelR.
    10
    This homage to Double Indemnity is one of the most captivating film noirs since Double Indemnity.
  3. Artie412
    9
    I don't give "10s," and this review is 32 years late, but Body Heat is one of those films that you can see over and over. It's a shame that there was never a sequel to Body Heat, or that the same elements didn't produce another neo-noir. I recommend this film highly.… Full Review »
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