Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Al Pacino | ... | ||
Robert De Niro | ... | ||
Val Kilmer | ... | ||
Jon Voight | ... | ||
Tom Sizemore | ... | ||
Diane Venora | ... | ||
Amy Brenneman | ... | ||
Ashley Judd | ... | ||
Mykelti Williamson | ... | ||
Wes Studi | ... | ||
Ted Levine | ... | ||
Dennis Haysbert | ... | ||
William Fichtner | ... | ||
Natalie Portman | ... | ||
Tom Noonan | ... |
Hunters and their prey--Neil and his professional criminal crew hunt to score big money targets (banks, vaults, armored cars) and are, in turn, hunted by Lt. Vincent Hanna and his team of cops in the Robbery/Homicide police division. A botched job puts Hanna onto their trail while they regroup and try to put together one last big 'retirement' score. Neil and Vincent are similar in many ways, including their troubled personal lives. At a crucial moment in his life, Neil disobeys the dictum taught to him long ago by his criminal mentor--'Never have anything in your life that you can't walk out on in thirty seconds flat, if you spot the heat coming around the corner'--as he falls in love. Thus the stage is set for the suspenseful ending.... Written by Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>
Micheal Manns'(director of 'The Insider', and 'Manhunter') smooth, straightforward direction is studded with brilliant and very memorable cinematic gems in 'Heat', A bullet riddled drama with, yes , Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in their first on screen meeting.
What do you want to hear about 'Heat'. Is it DeNiro's best performance? No. Is it Pacino's best performance? I'd be lying if I said it was. Do the performances improve the story? Absolutely. Mann has written (he wrote it as well) a complex and exciting two-sided story that develops the hunter Vincent Hanna (Pacino) and the hunted Neil McCauley (De Niro) separately throughout much of the film. Underneath a hail of bullets Mann is able to paint both lead characters with the same brush by delving into the similarly tragic and chaotic personal lives of Hanna and McCauley, allowing for the final epic scene, which would have been too pretentious if it were not for the excellent performances of Pacino and De Niro.
Bottom Line: Not having seen this movie is akin to idiocy for anyone claiming to be a fan of movies. 9 out of 10