Heat

Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: December 15, 1995

8.6	USER SCORE Universal acclaim based on 657 Ratings

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User Reviews

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nosecohnJan 1, 2012

If ever a movie was in need of some judicious editing to correct pacing and story issues, this is it. With riveting performances from an all-star cast and an interesting plot, it had the potential to be great entertainment on many levels. ButIf ever a movie was in need of some judicious editing to correct pacing and story issues, this is it. With riveting performances from an all-star cast and an interesting plot, it had the potential to be great entertainment on many levels. But post-production choices by director Mann turned this into an unwieldy two hour and forty minute beast.

Everything just goes on too long, underscored by a narcotic soundtrack that leaves the audience twitching in their seats instead of on the edge of their seats. The turning point scene where the two main characters first meet face-to-face should have been a cerebral break in the action and relationship drama, but instead comes after many minutes of plodding, unnecessary footage. The ending was also a huge letdown considering how much the proficiencies of both main characters had been built up over the course of the film.

Still, there are some great individual performances and scenes in this film, so I'm giving it a rating that makes it worth watching, though not a must see. 6/10.… Expand

1 of 5 users found this helpful14

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MeritCobaSep 11, 2016

This movie has more stars than you can shake a stick at, with Pacino and de Niro taking most of the screen cake. Michael Mann brings with him his own visual style: extended long shots, mostly at night often at desolate places that isolateThis movie has more stars than you can shake a stick at, with Pacino and de Niro taking most of the screen cake. Michael Mann brings with him his own visual style: extended long shots, mostly at night often at desolate places that isolate the characters. The movie starts with such a shot: the camera is set in between the elevated tracks of a metro railway and centered on a station silhouetted against the early dawn sky. The lights in the shot define what we see. A metro moves into view from the right and stops at the station. The next shot shows de Niro stepping out. We hear nothing but the music playing and the sounds of the metro and the city. An awesome shot.

The movie is carried by the acting and the visual style, but hampered by the weak and overburdened plot. No less than three relations are followed as side stories, which allows some roles for women, albeit in the overcrowded niche of troubled partnerships. Mann is not one for strong independent women or ones that stand by their men.. Despite all the women(or maybe because of this), this is a man's movie foremost. No pun intended.

The weakness of Heat is that Mann cannot quite make the plot stick. At the beginning, we start out with de Niro and his men robbing an armored money car with such gratuitous violence that it must have attracted crowds of onlookers as they are in the middle of LA, yet only one hobo was a witness to the events. This then is the reason that further on into the movie Pacino forestalls an arrest : they got nothing on them. Another event that is badly handled is when the gang is caught robbing a bank. Again overdone violence results(another Mann trademark) whereby the three crooks fight off a police force that out guns and out man's them. They not only manage to take out seven policemen but get away with the loss of one of them and one wounded. All thanks to their never ending supply of bullets.

Mann can not turn violence into something that does not hamper the plot. Shoot up half the town and nobody can point a finger. So, in the end, some ratting needs to be done, by a woman of course. But again: what evidence do they have that they did not have before? Nothing actually. So we just kill them all. With that the movie is actually about the morally bankrupt, perhaps another Mann trademark.

Women do get the short end of the stick. They are a source of trouble: if they aren't nagging they are cheating and if they aren't cheating they are selling out their partners. And if they do neither of those they are best at whoring, lying or cowering in fear. The message: women, you can't do without them, just don't expect much too of them. And maybe that is another trademark of Mann.

Short: it just takes too long and overreaches itself. Collateral is a lot better.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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MarickDec 9, 2014

Heat is a 1995 American crime thriller film written, produced and directed by Michael Mann, and starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer. The film was released in the United States on December 15, 1995. De Niro plays Neil McCauley, aHeat is a 1995 American crime thriller film written, produced and directed by Michael Mann, and starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer. The film was released in the United States on December 15, 1995. De Niro plays Neil McCauley, a professional thief, while Pacino plays Lt. Vincent Hanna, a veteran L.A.P.D. robbery-homicide detective tracking down McCauley's crew. The central conflict is based on the experiences of former Chicago police officer Chuck Adamson and his pursuit in the 1960s of a criminal named McCauley, after whom De Niro's character is named… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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imthenoobNov 8, 2022

Always a blast to see DeNiro and Pacino together again in what was a pretty decent crime movie. Sadly, What could have been a classic is ruined by cringe-worthy dialogue and a poorly done final act that fails to match what the film had beenAlways a blast to see DeNiro and Pacino together again in what was a pretty decent crime movie. Sadly, What could have been a classic is ruined by cringe-worthy dialogue and a poorly done final act that fails to match what the film had been up until that point.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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SEROJJan 28, 2016

I had very high expectations, but i wasn't very impressed. Overall it was a nice movie to watch. With good plot and great acting, this is a movie you'll like, if you enjoy criminal films!

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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NickTheCritickAug 21, 2022

I find Michael Mann to be inconsistent in many of his films.
The first 10 minutes of this movie are great. The robbery scene is one of the best ever but then the film begins to be self indulgent and full of clichés. The characters are writtenI find Michael Mann to be inconsistent in many of his films.
The first 10 minutes of this movie are great. The robbery scene is one of the best ever but then the film begins to be self indulgent and full of clichés. The characters are written to be spectacular rather than real (especially the character of Al Pacino) and many scenes seem to be shot only for the mood but are not functional at all. However the cinematography is great.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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