Mann, the TV producer who should be king.

Rating: 9/10 (27 March 2005)

The first crime drama in history that shows both sides of the law without deriding one side or another is also the best Michael Mann film that he has ever made. The two antagonists are three-dimensional and Mann shows that he is more than what he has been accused of being, a director that prefers style over substance.
De Niro and Pacino are of course two of the best actors known today, but they couldn't be in better company. Mann, who used to be producer of Miami Vice deals with each of their predicaments in a sensitive way that really describes what being opposites is really about.
De Niro's character, McCauley and Pacino's Hanna actually have more in common than the people that are supposed to be their friends and allies. They have been unable to form a lasting relationship with women and their only satisfaction is their work.
Of the many supporting players, two stand out. Tom Noonan is not a household name, especially here in Denmark, but his despicable character here is essential to counter what the De Niro character is like. Val Kilmer seems to be an odd choice to play a hardened criminal but he shows that he can be as hardboiled as De Niro could in his most unsympathetic role, especially when dealing with his girlfriend, played by Ashley Judd. She has an important part in the end where she has to choose sides.
Like many crime pictures, there is a great shootout, but this one is handled in a way that doesn't spell attractive or glamorous. The noise is absolutely worse than any war picture ever made and the casualties die hard.
The end is somewhat predictable but could it end in another way and still be believable? I don't think so. The two scenes that De Niro and Pacino share, including this one, are not really necessary to the plot, but they say something about their characters and their strange connection. That it is not two action scenes doesn't really matter because we have already seen the cat and mouse game they play before their first scene and to have them go head to head literally would spoil the poesy of these enigmatic characters. The one thing that I felt a little contrived was the way that Hanna approaches McCauley to have their talk but that is such a minor quibble that it doesn't affect the rest of the movie. So congratulations to Mann for making a brilliant film and I hope there will be many more to come.