Review of Heat (1995) by J.s. L — 18 Sep 2016

Heat is just one of those films that most movie fans will insist you must see at some point, and I didn't have the pleasure (or desire) until now. I was a little nervous, because usually when cinephiles insist on a particular film, it isn't exactly the kind of fun escapism that I love. Luckily, Heat was a surprisingly great experience. Most people would probably jump right to the acting performances in a film like this, but the story is what enthralled me for the full (rather long) run-time. I've always enjoyed heist movies, and that whole cat-and-mouse game between cops and robbers is fascinating. This was one of the strongest versions of a heist film I've ever seen because it matches criminals who are at the top of their game against detectives who are also the best of the best. No one is doing something extremely stupid which leads to their downfall in this movie. Instead it is a battle of wits where both parties are acting very intelligently, and hoping that their skill is enough to come out on top. Thankfully, they don't needlessly bog us down in setup and flashbacks and all that nonsense, instead we get to know the characters and everything that is happening to them as the story progresses.

When I do start to look at the acting, it is almost flawless from the top of that cast list down to the bottom. Pacino vs. De Niro is obviously the big story, and they certainly make it something special. The contentious yet oddly respectful relationship that they form is great fun to watch and creates the perfect coda to the film. Essentially these 2 men are opposite sides of the same coin, they both see that in order to be the best at what they do they must abandon any attachment to people and things. And if they break that rule and form a strong connection it would put their job (even their life in danger.) That's why things end they way they do, but I won't spoil that here. Val Kilmer is the third wheel in this film, because he also gets a decent amount of character development, and I certainly like what he did with this performance. I'm not 100% sure why his character needed to be fleshed out in this way. I think perhaps it is for the sake of comparison and contrast with the path that De Niro takes in the end, but it's hard for me to say. I mean, I'm never going to complain much about some Kilmer in my movies, but if any character could have been cut down to shorten up the film it would be his.

The length didn't bother me as much as I expected it would. I can be a real whiner about movies that drag on too long, but through most of Heat I didn't really notice. I think they got me invested in the characters and anxious to see what would happen next, so a little extra time taken here or there didn't bother me too much. There were some definite scripting issues in the film. It is somewhat light on dialogue (which I like) but when people are having heart-to-heart conversations they sometimes talk in ways that are overly scripted. There's one scene where Diane Venora is talking to Al Pacino and I thought "is she quoting some crappy Shakespeare or something??" It was so artificial and dramatically far removed from anything a normal human being would say in that situation. Most of the time I didn't notice this in Heat, but every once in awhile I hear Michael Mann talking instead of the character on screen. It's hard to criticize Mann too much for his scripting, though, because the rest of the film looks and feels so great. It's one of those movies that had me questioning who is good and who is bad and, if the criminals are always bad, what does that say about me when I root for them. If you haven't seen Heat, then I'd highly recommend it. This is the kind of film I will want to see again, and dig into more in the future.