Truly a masterpiece and one of the greatest films of all time

Rating: 10/10 (29 April 2011)

HEAT is nothing short of spectacular.
This was the first movie i purchased on DVD way back in '96' and I'll explain why, not only are the action sequences shot in cinematic brilliance, the plot really makes you care about each character and lets not forget standout performances from Robert De Niro, Al Pacino (the first movie in which both actors are in the same scene) Val Kilmer (possibly his best role since Top Gun) Tom Sizemore, Ashley Judd, Natalie Portman the list goes on, the acting is nothing short of brilliant I cant stress this enough – the casting crew knew what they were doing here.
The basis of the story is an oldie but a goodie – Cops and robbers. Vincent Hanna (played by Pacino) leads a squad of robbery/homicide detectives on the trail of a new "crew" of criminals lead by Neil McCauley (De Niro). This begins a game of Cat and Mouse which sees the tables turned on each of them throughout the movie, add to this the personal issues they have makes these two characters relatable and this just ads to them becoming more interesting. To say anymore would give the film away.
The action, unlike most films isn't over done, even though they are awesome to watch, this gives the film a better sense of realism and inturn makes the plot more believable. A special mention here is the shoot out scene – you'll know it when you see it. Add to this the best sounding film I've heard everything just makes it real, the echo of the shootouts, the way glass cracks and wood splinters all are fantastic. The only other film that would compare is 'Saving Private Ryan'.
At just over 3hrs long this epic crime drama has to glued, I must stress if you are going to watch this film make sure you have a decent surround sound system and a good widescreen and do it the justice it deserves.

Novak