Review of Heat (1995) by Cody J — 12 Mar 2012

A nearly perfect movie with excellent character development and attention to the detail. There is only one problem in which, I think, Mann found one clever solution.

The problem is that the characters all so well built that they do not justify the ending. Good Guy (Pacino) is deep alright but he is surrounded by shallow cops and Bad Guy (De Niro) is definetely much deeper. So how is it that Good finaly overcomes Bad? I believe that Mann solved this by making a secret ending for the demanding audience.

At the end, when Bad Guy does his final job at the hotel, the movie ends! It's an ending scene! Slow, zooming out, with music and everything, and Bad Guy disapearing into the growd. This is the real finale!! The only thing that this scene misses are the end credits!

Then fade to black, and we are in an airport. We don't know how the Good Guy, went there. He just is! And despite the fact that everything is so well done, the plane never comes! We don't know why. Bad Guy loses. This is the happy ending the producer and the mainsteam audience wanted and Mann gave it to to them! But completely isolated from the rest of the movie.

So next time you watch Heat, press stop right after the hotel scene and there you are! A director's cut for free!