--- title: "Body Heat: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/body-heat/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/body-heat" critics_score: 78 critics_reviews: 10 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Body Heat (1981): what the critics said Critics' score 78 from 10 reviews: 9 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. 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. ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 20 July 1997. The critic praises Kasdan's assured directorial debut as a seductive modern noir that transcends its influences. Turner’s commanding, sexually confident performance as the femme fatale is singled out as the film’s central strength. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-body-heat-1981) ## Little White Lies — Steph Green Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 28 August 2021. The critic praises Body Heat as a touchstone erotic thriller elevated by Kathleen Turner’s dominant, entrancing performance as the femme fatale Matty. The film’s sweaty, sensual atmosphere and the thrill of seeing the woman win are singled out for admiration. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/in-praise-of/body-heat-erotic-thriller-kathleen-turner) ## The AV Club — Nathan Rabin Rating B+. 29 November 2006. The critic praises Kasdan's neo-noir debut for its visceral heat wave atmosphere and Turner's star-making femme fatale performance, noting it set the standard for the genre. The review highlights the clever script and cast while focusing on the film's suspenseful second half. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/body-heat-deluxe-edition-1798202174) ## Empire — Ian Nathan Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic praises Kasdan for nailing the cold heart of the screenplay and the sheer heat of Kathleen Turner's debut performance as the sultry lead. They highlight the film's steamy humidity mirroring the illicit passions and its successful update of classic noir traditions. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/body-heat-review/) ## Slant Magazine — Budd Wilkins Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 13 May 2026. The review lauds the film as a template for 80s/90s neo-noirs and erotic thrillers, praising its debt to Double Indemnity, visual techniques, ambiguous ending, and strong performances. It singles out the thematic use of blinds, color, and camera movements for praise. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/body-heat-4k-uhd-blu-ray-review-lawrence-kasdan/) ## Variety Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1980. The review finds the film an engrossing, stylish melodrama of sex and crime that confidently revives classic noir tropes. Kasdan’s directorial debut and the humid, atmospheric treatment of the leads’ affair are highlighted as strengths. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1980/film/reviews/body-heat-1200425024/) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 27 August 1992. Festival review. The critic calls it a perfectly executed film noir pastiche set in a sweltering Florida summer, praising the crackling dialogue from former screenwriter Kasdan and the intricate plotting. They single out Kathleen Turner's elegant, restrained femme fatale for particular praise over more recent villainesses. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-a-cloudburst-and-a-heatwave-1542923.html) ## Time Out — PT Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. The critic describes the film as a hot, sticky contemporary noir romance full of lust, greed, murder and betrayal, commending its confident, dense plotting and narrative assurance that delivers an unfashionably certain conclusion. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/body-heat) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 28 August 1981. The review calls the film a textbook-perfect but slavish recreation of 1940s noir, skillfully executed yet overly stylized. It singles out the explicit sexuality as the main update to the old formulas, while noting the leads’ appeal. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/28/movies/william-hurt-as-fall-guy-in-body-heat.html) ## Film Comment — David Chute 1 September 1981. Body Heat is both a humid homage to film noir and a debut film from a director with a future. Chute finds an assured narrative presence behind all that steamy sex. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/issue/september-october-1981/) ## Collider — Andre Dellamorte Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 30 October 2008. The film gets the neo-noir mood and look right but never quite sings, falling into the trap of not being clever enough in its plot machinations. It features strong performances, especially from Kathleen Turner as the femme fatale, and memorable lines from Kasdan's script. [Read the review](https://collider.com/back-catalog-in-1080/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/body-heat.md