It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Based on the John Katzenbach story "In the Heat of the Summer", this Florida-lensed crime thriller does hold ones' attention with its straightforward telling of an interesting tale. Kurt Russell is aces as Malcolm Anderson, a star reporter for the Miami Journal who is contacted by a murderous psychopath (Richard Jordan) who has killed once and who promises that there will be other murders. The killer, who craves the spotlight, decides to use Anderson as his mouthpiece, creating a very uneasy "collaboration" between killer and reporter. Things start to really turn South when Anderson starts getting the bulk of the attention, leaving the killer feeling resentful. This is a solid set-up for a movie that ultimately does indeed lose a fair deal of its impact by turning conventional for its final act, but until then it's solidly entertaining, with the performances of Russell and Jordan serving as effective anchors. The give and take between their two characters is compelling stuff, and it's a good thing that Anderson isn't treated as some typically infallible movie hero. The supporting cast is mostly strong; Mariel Hemingway as Anderson's schoolteacher girlfriend Christine is appealing as she always is, but her character has little to do besides look and act concerned and eventually be put into peril. Richard Masur (reunited, along with producers Lawrence Turman and David Foster, with Russell after "The Thing") is Anderson's editor, Andy Garcia (in one of his earliest movie roles) and Richard Bradford are the weary detectives on the case, Joe Pantoliano is a photographer, and the almighty movie tough guy William Smith appears briefly as a character supplying critical information. The Miami setting adds a lot of ambiance, especially as the storms start coming up towards the end of the story. Lalo Schifrin's music is also highly effective. Even in light of the clichéd climactic confrontation, there is some enjoyable resonance to "The Mean Season" as it deals with the big issue of journalistic culpability, and the role that the media play in our receipt of the news. An overall grim feel to the presentation, and an atmospheric opening, are also assets in this generally good, if not great, and reasonably convincing movie. Seven out of 10.

I liked this film very much. I thought the plot was unique. When a newspaper reporter (Russell) gets such a break - a killer calling him with just enough information to make them both famous, one has to understand the writer's following up and getting involved. Maybe it wasn't one of Kurt Russell's best films, to put it mildly, but he didn't hold back. He was understanding when the script called for it, romantic, when the script called for it and frightened when the script called for it. Muriel Hemingway was good, too, and her chemistry with Russell was interesting. The music was compelling and location (Miami) colorful. Don't underrate this film. Watch it with an open mind and enjoy yourself. The other star in this film is the hurricane (mean season) and if you've ever lived in Florida, you know how the tension builds when a storm is coming. Richard Jordan is an added attraction. I've never seen him before, but as the murderer, he was scary and convincing.

Passable murder thriller that won't set the world alight, but it's the charismatic Kurt Russell who carries you throughout along with a well-oiled support cast (Richard Masur, Richard Jordan (a very uneasy performance as the killer), Andy Garcia, William Smith and Joe Pantoliano). Like everyone has already mentioned, Mariel Hemingway is one of the unconvincing factors and her performance did really grate away --- not helping was the character she was portraying too. What starts as off as provocatively stimulating (where the killer contacts Russell's newspaper reporter character to offer him the chance to become his link to the media -- informing him about the murders before anyone else knows about it) only goes on to be your normal, predictable run of the mill psycho thriller where revenge threats (for stealing the limelight away) and kidnapping becomes the focal point. Early on the phone calls between the reporter and the killer, drills out some suspense and it opens up the ambitious nature of the media and at what cost you would go to cement a story with the close ties that are formed. This is seen to be a big breakthrough for Russell's burnt-out character, until it starts to affect everything around him namely that with his fiancée (Hemingway) and instead of reporting it he eventually becomes the news. Set during the middle of Miami's storm-riddled summer, it's engulfed by a humid atmosphere and music scorer Lalo Schfrin cooks up one excellently saucy and characteristically unhinged score that blends right in. The standard material is given a lot more punch due to Schfrin's input.

Malcolm Anderson is a journalist with a local paper in Miami. After reported petty murder after petty murder, Anderson feels tired of the whole thing and is ready to pack it in. Bullied by his boss he covers the murder of a young woman and writes it up. A day later he takes a call from a man claiming to be the killer and offers information on something left in the dead girl's pocket as proof. Anderson goes to the police with this and finds that the "something" is a note saying "number one". Anderson continues to take calls from the man as it becomes clear that he is a serial killer with a specific plan, benefiting from the story of his life while also hoping to help the police bring him in. However the line between reporting and involvement starts to be muddied and Anderson finds himself drawn into the murders.Although it is nothing special and does pretty much what you expect it to, this little thriller is a perfectly serviceable affair. Set against the stormy Miami weather, the plot is reasonably well developed in terms of pacing so that it carries the audience along with it. At times it is very easy to get ahead of it though and it was perhaps a bit longer than the material could cope with. It is pretty engaging for what it is but I can understand why some viewers will have been less than impressed by it – I was in a pretty undemanding mood and found it easy to surf along with it without criticising too much (a rarity for me as many will confirm).The cast are mostly solid and match the material by not really excelling themselves but doing enough to get by. Russell is a good lead but he doesn't manage to convince as his character changes – his internal conflict is never as complex and interesting as the script would like you to think. He is supported by a nicely menacing turn from Jordan, who dominates any scene he is in albeit with a by-the-numbers character. Hemingway is as bland as usual and just doesn't fit in. True she is given little to do but she doesn't help herself one bit. Smaller turns from Garcia, Pantoliano, Masur and others all add a feeling of depth to the cast, which helps a bit.All in all then a by-the-numbers thriller that works well enough to satisfy those looking for just that. The predictable narrative arch means that it should have been paced a bit quicker to prevent the audience overtaking the material, but mostly it moves forward nicely. The cast are solid enough and, although nothing screams out as being special, nothing of significance is particularly weak either.