stylish, uber cool, crime epic

Rating: 8/10 (20 September 1998)

Ignore the critics that poo poo this film. I didn't find it too long and the much hyped meeting of DeNiro and Pacino in the cafe was very subtly done (considering the stature of these two titans) and brought a smile to my face. The bank heist was comparable to the best of John Woo ... the staccato sounds from the robbers' AK47 was so jarring and intense. This was a stylish mix of a super crime action movie with well developed characters with complex personal lives and real problems. Yeah, sometimes it does take 3 hours to fully develop. This film is very similar in theme and feel to Michael Mann's earlier film "Thief", starring James Caan as a super cool thief and featuring a seminal soundtrack by Tangerine Dream, but Heat's even better.
Overall, the movie was brillantly conceived and oh so cool.