Partly I'm disappointed in myself for taking so long to watch _Heat_ because it's such a massive influence on one of the best movies ever (_The Dark Knight_), and one my favourite video games ever (_Payday: The Heist_). Mostly though, I'm disappointed in myself for taking so long to watch _Heat_ because I've denied myself for so long the privilege of having seen such a great fucking crime movie. _Final rating:★★★★ - An all round good movie with a little something extra._

**Heat earns its way onto top 25 lists for heist films and 90s action, but its faults keep it low in the rankings.** Heat gets so many things right. The stellar cast continues to surprise me with all the different names and faces I recognize when I watch it. The action is exceptional, especially considering this film is over 25 years old. The shoot-out in the middle of the movie is riveting, raw, and powerfully hard-hitting. The story made it impossible to guess exactly how it would turn out - was the cop going to get his man, or was the mastermind thief going to get away? Heat belongs on best heist and action movie lists but not nearly as high as many lists rank it. Heat carries some annoying faults. The ending of the film is abrupt and unsatisfying. The runtime is at least 45 minutes too long. The biggest frustration was Al Pacino’s performance. He was so over the top that his character felt like he was in the wrong movie. Every other action delivered genuine and serious performances while Pacino was screaming about women’s butts. What? Heat is a good film, but these low points keep it from being great.

“Heat” directed by Michael Mann is a crime epic based on the exploits of real life criminal Neil McCauley.  Although mostly fictional, with the events and character having real life basis, Mann is able to elevate this crime drama above other films in a similar genre.  Robert De Niro plays Neil McCauley, a knowledgable experienced criminal who’s skill set includes playing cat and mouse with the police. After a robbery ends in a street gunfight McCauley and his gang manage to evade the police. Lieutenant Vincent Hanna ( Al Pacino ) determined to catch the criminals, skilfully assesses the crime scene and immediately “ Heat” begins to draw parallels between the two lead characters.  Filmed entirely on location “Heat” is a gripping, tension filled viewing experience that has the viewer uncertain who to route for throughout the entire proceedings.

**A good film, with great actors at the highest level, a little different from other action films and that deserves to be revisited these days.** If there's one thing that can be a good pastime, it's an action movie, with ingenious and fearless thieves and police willing to do anything to arrest them. That's what this movie is, basically, and although we've seen many movies with this recipe, neither does it become tiresome, nor do the movies become boring or less interesting. Michael Mann is today a director with solid action credits, thanks in part to this film, but also to “The Insider” and “Collateral”. Before this film, he had shown extraordinary competence in directing “Last of the Mohicans”, a film that I consider an example for harmonizing creative freedom, absolute historical rigor and a great respect for the source material. In this film, Mann does not disappoint and once again gives us solid, consistent, committed and creative direction. For the cast, several great actors with given evidence were called. Of course, it's not possible for everyone to have the same degree of protagonism, but I think that each one of them had the time and material necessary to do a very well done job. Al Pacino and Robert De Niro clearly stand out from the crowd. In addition to having the central characters of the plot, they are both incredibly intense, charismatic, explosive. It's worth watching this duel of the titans. Pacino is the most unlikable and difficult to like because he is constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown. De Niro is kinder and more human, so it's not hard to root for him. In addition to them, we have the excellent work of Val Kilmer and Jon Voight, and a well accomplished performance of Tom Sizemore. The film also features appearances by Danny Trejo (almost playing himself) and a teenager named Natalie Portman, among many other well-known names. Despite everything, this film has little action, many will say. And really, the priority that was given here is the development of the characters and each of their stories, so that the action is more concentrated in some specific sequences like the anthological sequence of the robbery and shooting in the middle of the street. I liked that, and I liked that this movie tried to be different in a positive way. My only criticism is the slow and tiresome pace that the film assumes most of the time. With a slightly faster pace thanks to some surgical cuts, the film would become lighter. Filmed in Los Angeles, in the city itself (I can only imagine what a logistical nightmare it must have been!), the film couldn't have better sets and costumes, striving for total realism. The special effects work very well, the cinematography is wonderful, and the film is visually very elegant and mature.

We know pretty much from the start who is who, here. “McCauley” (Robert De Niro) is a fastidious criminal who uses his gang of regulars to stage intricate robberies with relative impunity. His counter is police lieutenant “Vincent” (Al Pacino) who is trying to track them down - but from a bit of a standing start. These guys never leave any clues! Then, one tiny slip-up during an armoured car robbery gives the tenacious detective a glimmer of hope that might just lead the cops to one of his number. Meantime, on the personal front “Vincent” is having trouble engaging with his wife “Justine” (Diane Venore) who is sick of his constant absences and late shift work, whilst the determinedly bachelor that is “McAuley” befriends a girl in a diner and “Charlene” (Ashley Judd) soon gets under his skin, giving him a new reason to reassess what he wants from life. It’s all going to come down to one last job, and with the police now breathing down their neck it’s going to be a matter of wile, guile and wits as to which might prevail - and Michael Mann manages to build and then sustain quite a degree of tension leading to an exciting last twenty minutes whilst still keeping the jeopardy going right to the end. There are quite a few solid veins of sub-plots contributing here, too, that allow Val Kilmer and Kevin Gage to take some of the limelight and relieve a little of the burgeoning tension between De Niro and Pacino, and though I did think the latter man here did overact annoyingly at times, the whole ensemble delivers a superior heist movie that just goes to show that it’s never the actual robbing that causes the problems, it’s the getting away with it.