Epic.

Rating: 9/10 (14 November 2014)

"Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner."
In Michael Mann's epic crime drama "Heat," the thin blue line grows thinner by the minute. The centerpiece of Mann's film isn't a showdown at high noon, but a conversation over a cup of coffee featuring two expert tradesmen on opposite sides of the law who satisfy identical impulses through opposing means.
Set in contemporary Los Angeles, "Heat" stars Robert De Niro as Neil McCauley, a prolific, cold-as-ice career criminal. Al Pacino is Vincent Hanna, a homicide/robbery detective with the LAPD who recognizes the work of professional criminals and spends the film's three-hour duration tracking down McCauley and his crew. When Hanna and his unit of detectives begin to pick up McCauley's trail, a cat-and-mouse game develops between the two men. Two expert tradesmen on opposite sides of the law, a virtual dance if you will, keeping in step with one another.
Neil McCauley has enough money to get away and becomes deeply attached to his girlfriend Eady (Amy Brenneman). Neil decides to leave his life as a criminal in the past and move to New Zealand with Eady after one last major heist. Lieutenant Hanna is now obsessed with taking down McCauley, and his devotion to the case makes his private life a disaster zone. For both men, their unrelenting commitment to their profession leaves the only other people in their lives in a path of devastation and abandonment.
"Heat" fits the classic definition of a film noir -- the conventions and elements from the hard-boiled detective to the urban setting, the interplay of lights and shadows in the final scene, to the neon lights illuminating the dark corners of Los Angeles. There's a certain uniqueness to the mood of the film achieved by its icy-blue palette which sets the atmospheric tone. Some films are great primarily because of the visuals, others we appreciate for the rich characters, sharp dialogue, or an entertaining story. Rarely do we get a combination of textual and visceral elements fitting the same grand theme of a film, which in this case is loneliness. Both Neil and Vincent are consumed by their work and inherently lonesome, and the same is true for Mann's representation of Los Angeles. It's one we've never laid eyes on before, depicted as a silent milieu of isolation; a car driving along on an empty highway, the flickering city lights on a soundless night, an empty apartment reflecting on a endless ocean, the lights of an airport runway fading into darkness.
When Hanna's incessant pursuit finally catches up with McCauley, the result is one of the most well executed heist scenes in film history. Mann masterfully builds the tension and intensity with the use of montage editing. Above all, the dialogue is complex enough to allow the characters to say what they're thinking: They are eloquent, insightful, fanciful, and even poetic when necessary.
"Heat" is a crime drama masterpiece -- stunning cinematography by Dante Spinotti, a cast of characters that speak for themselves, an engaging storyline, and fantastic action sequences. Disregard Neil's advice, and don't walk if you see the heat coming around the corner.