Heat, directed by Michael Mann, is truly a spectacle. The 1995 film starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer tells the story of a group of highly skilled thieves as they are tracked down by a veteran detective. Even with the film's menacing 3 hour run time, it manages to entrance the audience in its epic plot and intricately woven characters.
Heat tells the story of Neil McCauley (De Niro) and his crew of highly professional thieves during a series of robberies, relentlessly tracked by homicide detective Vincent Hanna (Pacino). The film opens with the robbery of an armored car, performed flawlessly until the newcomer into McCauley's gang accidentally kills a guard. The gang is forced to kill the remaining guards because of this, which infuriates McCauley. These thieves run a tightly woven routine, highly practiced in their line of work, without room for error, so when a hiccup like this occurs it is truly a big deal for them. The caliber of these thieves is matched by detective Hanna's relentlessness in his line of work. On his third marriage, Hanna is a man who has only one love, and it's to his line of work. His current wife is unsatisfied because Hanna never has time for her, but he doesn't have any other options; tracking down criminals is all he knows how to do. It's the clash between these two unstoppable forces that creates such an interesting film. The film does an excellent job in creating anti heroes, making the audience question who they should be cheering for. Mann creates two leads, one "good" and one "bad", completely similar in their personalities and motivation but opposite in their morals. He separates the line between good guy and bad guy, making the audience as attached the murderous robber as they are to the virtuous detective.
The cast is the real backbone to this compelling story. Both Pacino and De Niro are amazing in their performances. They both portray men who, although they're almost on opposite sides of the spectrum, share a lot of the same problems. They're troubled men with troubled relationships, and Pacino and De Niro show this perfectly, combining their brooding attitude with their strong willingness and relentlessness. The rest of the cast does a fine job, with Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Danny Trejo and the violent and disturbed character of Kevin Gage rounding out of the crew of thieves quite well. The main thing I liked about the film was the chemistry between De Niro and Pacino. There is a scene in the film where Pacino and De Niro talk over coffee, discussing their lives and professions. Both men explain that although they do not wish it, if in a tight situation they would not hesitate to kill the other. The men truly respect each other, because they aren't very different from each other. To Hanna and McCauley, tracking criminals and stealing are the only things they know how to do.
In conclusion, I'd like to say that you should definitely watch Heat. You may be turned off by it's long run-time or it's cheesy or cliché appearance, but I'd insist that once you see the film, you'll be pleasantly surprised. It has fantastic actions scenes, it has compelling characters and it has an epic plot that will leave you satisfied. So I insist, as long as you can take the Heat, you need to view this film.
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