Awesome and Serious, Underestimated Picture

Rating: 9/10 (31 March 2015)

For such classic scenario, the greatest strength of "Heat" is that it takes itself seriously. It never makes the mistake of derailing from its purpose. Too many films at the time depicting similar cop-thief story lines tried flipping the mood at any given chance (humor or comic- relief characters) just so they could separate themselves and often offer surprise (something that happens until today). Micheal Mann is not the best director, but he made sure his movie's standards to be set high and be focused. Focus that's excellent, leading to a movie that is not driven by the plot alone or the strong performances; it is driven by both.
Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer portray three men with very different lives. Vincent Hanna tries to balance between his life as a detective and his time as a decent husband. Neil McCaley is a master-thief who knows nothing but crime as his whole life. And Chris Shiherlis is a younger, confused man as being somewhere in between. Addapting to stealing and lying, he wonders of the tempered impact this way of life will have on his family and has to constantly face dilemmas. Each one of these people appears as troubled and indecisive. Their occupation is their relief and at the same time the reason they suffer. At the bottom line, no matter the effort they all appear stuck and failing on whatever their goal. Even De Niro's character (McCaley), the man dedicated to stealing and killing, now in a weird way, finds a person to connect to and now is offered a chance to make the last business and find a true and clean life. But can he really give up his world and change himself? Can he simply forget and move on? The captivating final scene will give you the answer.
I made the mistake of watching this film too long after its release and I deeply regret it. Al Pacino and De Niro are two of the greatest actors ever and in the one and only scene we see them together, we get why. The accusations to this movie are many, including the "performances being forced for no reason" and "the screenplay being poor". I disagree. I think no mistakes are accepted in this one and if anything, the performances are unique and the slow pace demanded heavy screenplay with no rush.
I would further my comments on a great degree since the movie reaches 160 minutes screen time but I think the point's been made. "Heat" is a must-see movie either if you're just a movie fan or fanatic.