Lost among the giants, HEAT is vastly underappreciated

Rating: 9/10 (25 February 2000)

I must admit that when I first saw Michael Mann's HEAT I was not too impressed. However, now that I have had the chance to watch it again on DVD (twice this week), I am struck by what Mann, Pacino and de Niro have accomplished. HEAT capably juggles many characters and situations. It resists the temptation to go for melodrama. Mann gives us characters and lets their lives play out on the screen. The opportunities for extended weeping and the emotional trappings of long soliloquies are resisted even though opportunities are ample, especially when the film delves into the relationships of the characters. The film also has confidence enough to meander through the lives of its characters--in and out of the main plot. It is a masterful case study not of crime and action, but of the lives of the people who inhabit these lifestyles as "cops and robbers." Pacino and de Niro both shine in the character-types they do best--Pacino over the top, borderline maniac and de Niro as the cool and confident man of action. But it all comes down to the observation made in this film that there is no difference between these two characters on opposite sides of the law. In fact, the de Niro character seems more admirable than Pacino's much of the time. HEAT could easily run ten hours, and it is admirable that Mann was able to condense this film down to just under three hours and still cover the ground he does (I would love to see an expanded cut of this film). Finally, this film looks good--from cold blue nights to amazing action sequences. One of the best films of the 90s.