Midnight Heat (1996 TV Movie)
Interesting mystery, too violent at times
20 February 2007
At the start of the movie, a prison bus is wrecked intentionally, and a group led by Thomas Payne takes some prisoners (including Scar) off the bus, though many of those on the bus are shot.

At day's end, John Gray leaves his job at the Arizona State Bank only to get into an accident that leaves him with amnesia. His wife takes him back to their fabulous home hoping he will remember something.

John keeps seeing visions and having nightmares. He sees Payne and Scar, as well as a tattoo worn by some of the prisoners who were on the bus.

John returns to work when he is well enough, but his memory is returning very slowly. Each revelation comes with excitement and even some humor.

In the process of investigating his past life, John calls The Rebel Bar in Los Angeles, where the bartender thinks he sounds like Wayne Garret. Later, Payne and Scar hear that Wayne may have turned up.

A tattoo artist refuses to help at first when John shows him the design, but after some persuasion John is told this is a tattoo worn by people he would probably not want to associate with.

John goes to Los Angeles, where he teams up with cocktail waitress Jenny to find out the truth about his past. Why does Jenny help him? Because during one of his episodes, he thinks Jenny is his wife and helps her out of a jam.

I'm glad I didn't judge the movie by its very violent opening scene. There are a few scenes that would appeal to the macho types who enjoy gunfire, explosions and car chases. As you might expect, many of these are near the end. But it was the mystery that appealed to me, watching the details of John's past life unfold slowly.

Plus the interaction between John and Jenny proved to be my favorite part of the movie. Jenny is pretty, tough, and intelligent. Not to mention funny. At one point, she reminded me of Erica Durance, the feisty young Lois Lane in "Smallville".

Scar is ... colorful. Sort of like a WWE wrestler. Payne is eerie.

It was good. Just more violent than I would have liked.
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