"Heat" is a star-studded film directed by the impeccable Michael Mann. It is also the first time Al Pacino and Robert De Niro starred opposite one another. They have done two more movies together since this, but this is still perhaps the best thing they have done one screen together. (I know they did the second "Godfather" film, but they were in two parallel, contrasting stories.)
Before becoming geriatrics, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro were juggernauts; the top actors in the world who could be as picky and choosy as they wanted. Now that they are much older, parts are more limited. But in the 1990s when they were middle-aged, no one could stop them. So placing them as enemies on opposite sides of the law was something bound to happen. Despite Al Pacino playing the honest cop and and Robert De Niro playing the career thief, their performances under Michael Mann's direction made the feud as divided as, say, Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior.
At the surface, "Heat" has a very simple concept: cops & robbers. Pacino is the cop and De Niro is the robber. Pacino's team consists of such guys as Wes Studi and Mykelti Williamson, while De Niro has such men as Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore. When De Niro recruits a man named Waingro who has fun killing, things get turned upside down and he tries to sell out De Niro and his crew.
When Pacino and his crew draw closer to De Niro, there is an unforgettable scene where he pulls him over on the freeway and they have a cup of coffee and discuss their lives. The first time they have appeared onscreen together, the scene in great. Not only is it a cop and robber talking like regular guys, it could also be looked at like two arch rivals in acting.
Some time after this scene, there is a robbery that leads to a street war between these two factions. The robbery itself is short and sweet, but the massive gunplay is nothing short of astonishing. There are some gunfights sporadic in the film, but this is where it explodes into an all-out war. Michael Mann used more of echo sounds in the shootings to make it more real. He succeeds in that and it leads to a major jolt in the viewer. Without the innovative sound, the scene still would have been great, but not a mind-blow. You can't talk about "Heat" without talking about this action scene.
"Heat" features lots of characters and several subplots. Each are developed to the max, making them relatable and sympathetic including the bad guys. Mann tries to make it Shakespearean by giving the fullest backstories possible to almost everyone that run in similar fashion. That is where the movie gains a flaw that may turn some people off: it is too long. The Los Angeles jungle is an excellent setting and the characters are all captivating, but they just drag on a little too long. At almost three hours, thirty minutes could easily be shipped and the movie would have been better.
But that is just a minor flaw in an otherwise great film. The movie being too long is not bad enough where I don't give it a perfect score. Some of the best films ever made have noticeable flaws. This is one of them.
4/4.
Before becoming geriatrics, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro were juggernauts; the top actors in the world who could be as picky and choosy as they wanted. Now that they are much older, parts are more limited. But in the 1990s when they were middle-aged, no one could stop them. So placing them as enemies on opposite sides of the law was something bound to happen. Despite Al Pacino playing the honest cop and and Robert De Niro playing the career thief, their performances under Michael Mann's direction made the feud as divided as, say, Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior.
At the surface, "Heat" has a very simple concept: cops & robbers. Pacino is the cop and De Niro is the robber. Pacino's team consists of such guys as Wes Studi and Mykelti Williamson, while De Niro has such men as Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore. When De Niro recruits a man named Waingro who has fun killing, things get turned upside down and he tries to sell out De Niro and his crew.
When Pacino and his crew draw closer to De Niro, there is an unforgettable scene where he pulls him over on the freeway and they have a cup of coffee and discuss their lives. The first time they have appeared onscreen together, the scene in great. Not only is it a cop and robber talking like regular guys, it could also be looked at like two arch rivals in acting.
Some time after this scene, there is a robbery that leads to a street war between these two factions. The robbery itself is short and sweet, but the massive gunplay is nothing short of astonishing. There are some gunfights sporadic in the film, but this is where it explodes into an all-out war. Michael Mann used more of echo sounds in the shootings to make it more real. He succeeds in that and it leads to a major jolt in the viewer. Without the innovative sound, the scene still would have been great, but not a mind-blow. You can't talk about "Heat" without talking about this action scene.
"Heat" features lots of characters and several subplots. Each are developed to the max, making them relatable and sympathetic including the bad guys. Mann tries to make it Shakespearean by giving the fullest backstories possible to almost everyone that run in similar fashion. That is where the movie gains a flaw that may turn some people off: it is too long. The Los Angeles jungle is an excellent setting and the characters are all captivating, but they just drag on a little too long. At almost three hours, thirty minutes could easily be shipped and the movie would have been better.
But that is just a minor flaw in an otherwise great film. The movie being too long is not bad enough where I don't give it a perfect score. Some of the best films ever made have noticeable flaws. This is one of them.
4/4.