Most critics greet Body Heat warmly, praising Lawrence Kasdan’s assured handling of noir and the humid atmosphere surrounding its affair. Kathleen Turner draws the strongest agreement: the reviews repeatedly single out her commanding femme fatale performance, with her sexual confidence and restraint giving the film much of its force. Praise also gathers around Kasdan’s dialogue and intricate plotting, while the heat and sensuality are widely seen as crucial to making familiar material feel alive.
The main disagreement concerns how far the film moves beyond its influences, rather than how capably it recreates them. The New York Times finds the noir reconstruction skilful but slavish and overly stylised, treating explicit sexuality as its principal update. Collider is less persuaded by the plotting, finding the mood and performances stronger than the machinery of the story; these reservations sit within a largely positive spread, with Turner admired even by the less enthusiastic reviews.