With this much talent, it can't fail

Rating: 9/10 (19 October 2004)

Michael Mann's modern take on the cops-and-robbers genre, sees Pacino as a workaholic robbery-homicide cop tracking down ace thief DeNiro.
The movie explores the mutual respect between a policeman and criminal and, in their absolute commitment to their own cause, how this affects the people in their lives.
In the hands of lesser film-makers, this type of movie would have sunk without a trace. Given the talent on display, we would have had to see one of the biggest displays of 'off-form' for it to fail. But, it doesn't fail. It succeeds, and then some.
Pacino, it seems, is allowed to be the energy source of the main characters.
Full of bluster and showmanship, Pacino gives the most awkward moments (getting home whilst his wife's lover is still there, for example) a lighter side and, on occasions, some welcome over-acting. By the end, though, his character pays for his energy and we see a more restrained, considered approach from him for the final thirty minutes.
DeNiro plays the quiet man, but with wonderful acting wrings every drop from his character. Given that DeNiro is not given the latitude to express his character like Pacino, then he could have been outshone by his co-star. Of course, he's not.
Michael Mann shoots every frame immaculately. Mann has the style to go with the substance. His script doesn't treat female characters well but mainly because they are all making one last attempt to reach out to their male partners. I think the movie makes the point that people who give a huge amount of commitment to a cause lose sight of the people that are supposed to be the closest in their lives.
Together with some great characters, Mann has also included one of the best shoot-outs ever seen. The almost balletic shoot-out between Pacino's team of cops (and a large chunk of the LAPD) and DeNiro's group of thieves succeeds because it almost feels as if you are in the middle of it.
Of course, Heat is not perfect. Similarly to his Collateral, Mann constructs a weak final fifteen minutes. Both movies are far from standard Hollywood fare but do spend its final minutes in them. Both movies have a shoot-out that feels a little clichéd and you can't help but think that Mann had a thought-provoking ending to both films but the studio got their way. In other words, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
Still, Heat is probably the finest movie of its genre.
9 out of 10.