Review of Heat (1995) by Cameron J — 12 May 2012

Father and son, together at last; Francis Ford Coppola must have been so proud. Shoot man, this film isn't that far off from running the length of "The Godfather II", and I didn't think you could get that much momentum out of a film of this type. Maybe the secret to a successful overlong film is De Niro, because I doubt "1900" would be as big of a cult classic as it is now were it not for Big Bobbo Niro... or the fact that whoever picks cult classics seems to be into self torture, because if it's become a fad to sit through all of Ed Wood's films, then a five-and-a-quarter long movie that I hear is actually pretty decent should be a walk in the park; a long, long walk in the park. Still, I'm telling you guys, it's pretty amazing that Michael Mann will go do films of this hardly wide-scoped subject matter right after he has a should-be bonafide epic like "The Last of the Mohicans" failed to break the two hour mark, and yet still come out slower than most of his lengthy work; right up there with, well, this film. Of course, this film did have the advantage on pumping you up here and, based mainly on instinct, because, I don't know about y'all, but when I picture the idea of Scarface going up against Travis Bickle and Batman, I'd probably be pumped up if the film was directed by Terrence Malick, or at least I'd be pumped up, were it not for the fact that the Batman in question was quite easily the weakest. Val Kilmer, you're awesome and all otherwise, but come on man, your replacement, George Clooney, felt more fitting for the role, or at least I think so, and I wasn't crazy about "The Dark Knight", was crazy about "Watchmen", kind of like "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", thought "Iron Man 2" was much better than "1" and actually didn't full-on hate "Batman & Robin", so maybe I'm not the most credible superhero film critic out there. Still, much like a Jack's customer, I know what I like and I like it that way, and I don't know if its because of the aforementioned automatic pump-up or what, but I'm certainly liking this film, yet there are still points where the "heat" starts to go down.

As much as I compliment this film for managing to keep things up for its close-to three hour runtime, this still remains a somewhat unnecessarily lengthy film, and one done by, well, the guy who directed "The Last of the Mohicans", so when tension dies down, which it way too often does, the atmosphere dries and dies on its feet and the film falls limp as slow and rather - nay - considerably dull. It really doesn't help that the film gets to be so loose that there will be long periods of absolute nothingness but total quietness, as if it's attempting to meditate, only to come off as simply juiceless and frequently slow. This is certainly detrimental to the character and story development aspects of the film, as the botched attempts at meditative exposition leave gaps in emotional resonance-build and our characters to feel as though they stand to be fleshed out further, especially when the human aspect go further tainted by the occasional convention. There's little that's terribly unrefreshing about the film, but the film does hit tropes and, ever so occasionally, a little too hard, which isn't to say that the lapses in unconventionalism are the only slip-ups in cleverness in this picture, because, even when it comes down to the actual heists, things feel a touch exaggerated and offputting to the point of further damaging character investment, as a few things get rather difficult to fully buy into. There are plenty of holes in this project, and I'm not just refering the projects within the film's story, but the film itself, as it is so very slow, so very often, rendering its overlong and overdrawn-to length more palpable than it should be, and with a film facing on that many risks, it's not likely to bail out without much more than a little bit of reward value. Still, the film dives in audaciously and its efforts prove more fruitful than not. Sure, the film doesn't make it through without more than enough wounds to slow it down a little too much, yet there's more competent moves than problematic ones as Michael Mann tackles the very difficult and hits quite more than he misses, particularly when it comes to style.

Like most all of Michael Mann's films, the style isn't terribly upstanding, yet there's just enough texture and resonance pumped into it to give the film grit, while a sharp and effective soundtrack, as well as the occasional moment of heavily impacting writing - especially that rightfully iconic exchanges between Pacino's Vincent Hanna character and De Niro's Neil McCauley character - also go handled just sharply enough by Mann for the film's slowness to find itself broken up by engagement at just the right moment. The intrigue strikes especially sharply during the more intense moments, some of which do, as I said, go tainted by a few lapses in total believability, yet Mann manages to capture a sense of danger and hardcore brutality during the film's heavier points, and does so through general realism and genuinely effective meditation that tightens everything down to that specific moment, creating some golden moments of airtight tension. The film picks up, little by little as the story unravels, and intrigue grows more consistent as moments of tension grow more common, and that pick-up rolls in quickly enough and effectively enough that, through all of the lapses in engagement in resonance, this film grips quite tightly more than it lets its grip go too loose, and that is a mark of a film that rewards the patient. Still, it's not like waiting for the film to deliver is a terribly difficult task, as the film is kept going by the aforementioned right-on-time moments of effectiveness, but most of all, its performers. Most every member of this very broad cast delivers memorable range and human texture to the picture, while leads Al Pacino and Robert De Niro really own the show, as you would expect. Pacino's Sgt. Vincent Hanna character is a charismatic but flawed one, with both strength and pain from his experiences and steady decline what to lose, and it's a role that Pacino play with bubbly charm and snap during the less intense moments and subtle emotional depth during the more dramatic aspects, while De Niro does the same with his Neil McCauley character, one devoid of predictability and filled with both brutality and humanity, thus making him an offputtingly dangerous and flawed soul, yet one with his own inner struggles. Both of these classic acting greats are forces to be reckoned with, and whether it be a moment in which one of them particularly owns the spotlight that lands upon him, or one of the handful of golden moments in which they interact and forge from their equal presence electric chemistry, there's plenty in here that's especially carried by our leads, both of whom perhaps stand to have a bit more material, but still kill with what they're given to do, as always.

Overall, the overlong runtime is made palpable through many a long period of pure slowness and meditation botching that damages resonance and characterization for the longest time, yet, with the help of gritty style and genuine moments of intrigue, it's quite easy to hold things out until the soon-to-arrive pick-up that may not always stay up, yet definately gives this film much worth-the-wait consistent weight and engagement value, broken up by raw tension, and carried by across-the-board spirited performances among this broad cast, headed by the always razor-sharp veteran duo of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, ultimately leaving Michael Mann's "Heat" to stand as a generally engrossing thriller that satisfies much more often than not.

3/5 - Good.