Heat

I have very little interest in most action films or violent movies, so I am not the sort of person that would normally watch a film like "Heat". However, on a lark and because it's apparently such a good film I decided to give the film a look. Well, I must say that thought I was not in love with the film it sure was exceptionally well made and had a lot to offer--even for folks like me.

The biggest reason I liked the movie and thought it was made so well was its rich and complex plot. At nearly three hours, there is lots and lots of time for the plot to slowly unfold. It also allowed for several concurrent plots to interweave themselves through the film--the story about the master criminals, the cops, another criminal as well as a rogue nut-job that just likes to kill. It's almost like a mini-series in this respect. I also loved how this was not a set-bound film but was made throughout LA--though I wonder how this was possible, as it must have tied up huge portions of Los Angeles! I also loved some of the characters--particularly Robert De Niro's oddly professional and scary criminal boss. It was one of his very best performances.

There's very little to complain about in the film, though I thought Al Pacino's character was a tad over-acted at times. Unlike De Niro, I had a harder time believing Pacino was real. Perhaps it's just me....

Overall, if you don't mind the violence and the occasionally frenetic pace, then this is a film well wroth seeing. Extremely well-directed and never dull.

Every 2-3 years i come back to this movie and watch it again and again, just a reminder of the 90's movies with cops and robbers...one of the best cop movie ever!

A brilliant character driven action thriller with drama and emotion all the way. Despite the long runtime, the pacing never drags. The Magic of this action movie is that you believe the people you see in the screen. You care for them and everything they go through. All of the scenes are influential, the script and the score are iconic. Two thumbs up!

Sound like a bold statement? Devotees of classic cops and robbers flicks of old will no doubt take exception, but I believe that Michael Mann achieved some measure of perfection with Heat. To break this three-hour gem of a film down to its core, this is a film about men - strong men - and the supporting role that he women of the film have on them for better or worse. Take Pacino as good cop Vincent Hanna: one of the most intense characterizations of the tragic hero that I have ever witnessed, as he laments the demise of his third marriage to a pill-junkie wife. A fact which he discusses with his archnemesis (De Niro) in what history will regard as one of the most frenetic scenes in the history of film. The dialogue in this scene (at the very end of the first tape, if you own the VHS version) sets up the last half of the film beautifully, as our two rivals come to the joint realization that they have no hand in choosing the paths that will lead them to their ultimate confrontation: their very natures so define their respective actions that any attempt to do otherwise would simply be a waste of time. While I have heard others (who I am ashamed at times to call close friends) say that Heat drags in places, I will concede that there are moments in the film that require more than the cursory attention that they give to the movie they happen to be watching at any given time (I'm sorry not every director is Jerry Bruckheimer), there are poignant developments of character in Heat that many would casually disregard. I am thinking of the interaction between the ex-con who finds conditional employment in a diner with an opportunistic scum of a boss, and whose girlfriend is so proud of him for swallowing his pride and not simply giving the sonofabitch a good pummeling. But there is a catharsis that I felt for that same ex-con when De Niro's character presents him with the opportunity to take just one more score, for old time's sake. Who doesn't feel for this guy - this minor character in a film with big-time heavyweights who gets to shine for a few brief moments. That's what Heat is really: a series of brief moments, some touching, others traumatic, and still others incredibly horrifying in the feelings that they inspire in the romantic who, like me sees not black or white portrayals of protagonist and villain, but a montage of grays that combine to create a vivid spectrum of film characterization that could not be found in hundreds of films combined. One of my five favorite films of all time, Heat is a cinematic banquet of intense imagery and pulse-pounding action. Come hungry.

This is a brilliant film. While clocking in at a nearly three-hour running time, there isn't a single wasted scene, it is always entertaining and I think it is very rewatchable too. The cinematography, locations and scenery are superb, and the film's atmosphere and pace are also terrific. The story is plausible and beautifully structured with a breathtaking sequence towards the middle of the film, and there are a lot of memorable quotes. Heat is also brilliantly directed by Michael Mann and the acting of Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino is exemplary. So all in all, brilliant and absolutely worth it. 10/10 Bethany Cox