Review of Heat (1995) by Matt D — 22 Jan 2012

Heat (1995) -- [10.0] -- Al Pacino is Vincent Hanna of the LAPD robbery/homicide division. Robert DeNiro is Neil McCauley, the leader of a successful bank robbing team that includes his protege Chris Shiherlis, played by Val Kilmer.

After a fouled-up heist puts Hanna on McCauley's trail, "Heat" becomes an elaborate cat and mouse chase between a driven police lieutenant and a seasoned criminal. Though it's reality-based, "Heat" is as epic and enthralling as "Star Wars" or "The Lord of the Rings".

I know that's an odd comparison, but "Heat" is so hyper-stylized, it could almost pass for sci-fi/fantasy. Writer/director Michael Mann (Manhunter, Last of the Mohicans) is at the top of his game, armed with his signature visual flare.

LA has never looked this good. Dante Spinotti's photography is mesmerizing, aided by a hypnotic soundtrack by Elliot Goldenthal, Moby, and other artists. This powerful synthesis hits viewers broadside from the very first shot, one of a railway station at night.

Through smoke and fields of blinking city lights, washes of blue and the occasional piercing red, we are drawn into this world in a powerful visual and aural way. Whether it's scenes at McCauley's home on the ocean, in balcony scenes overlooking the vast city of lights, or in a great number of scenes shot at "magic hour", that ten minutes at dawn or dusk when the skies are at their most beautiful, one lush frame blends into another, and the parade never ends until the movie is over.

"Heat" is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen. It's one of Hollywood's biggest cliches, but "Heat" truly is about good and evil, right and wrong, and the propensity for all of us to swing either way.

Mann imbues the age-old struggle with compassion and complexity. This engrossing storytelling, combined with a superb cast and stellar aesthetics, makes it one of the very best films of the 1990s.