Michael Mann is THE crime movie director of the last 20 years

Rating: 9/10 (23 December 2003)

Mann wrote and directed a tv movie called "LA Takedown" in the early 1980's and for those people who don't like complexity, character developement and want straight A-B storytelling which doesn't challenge them, then see that version. For those who like movies, of whatever genre, to challenge, dazzle, involve and intrigue, then plump for "Heat" in all its 3 hour glory. Mann is on top of his form in the crime genre; building up from "Thief", "Miami Vice", "Camarena: The Drug Wars" this is his magnum opus. It's not enough that we have cop versus robber, this delves into the character's souls. Pacino and DeNiro are men who want to connect with a partner, but ultimately are loners incapable of supressing their drive to make a relationship work. Kilmer has a dysfunctional relationship, but ultimately his wife's loyalty wins through to save his life, Sizemore is portrayed as a family man (despite his criminal job) but is prepared to use a child as a hostage. Everyone sacrifices something in this movie. And what makes "Heat" a great movie is that a) it has an excellent script which is b) backed up by brilliant set pieces. The gun battle has been talked about as one of the best ever in movies. It's not just the action, or the amount of lead fired; it borders on documentary style photography and it uses sound brilliantly. The shots echo off the buildings, giving the fight a sense of scale and depth. I saw the film with an ex-army officer who said that was the most realistic depiction of a gun fight he'd ever seen on film. But a review of "Heat" cannot go without mentioning the two stars. For me, there are two moments which sum up why casting Pacino and DeNiro isn't for the headline value. First is where the cops are staking out the bank at night whilst DeNiro's crew fiddle with the electronics. A cop makes a noise in the surveillance van; DeNiro spins around and stares at the source of the noise. Look at his eyes, it's chilling. The second is the part where Pacino's team are lured to the docks, he realises that he's not the hunter, but the hunted. Again, notice Pacino's eyes and his body language. As for the bit in the cafe, I think it's clever that Mann never shows them together in the same shot. Forget the conspiracy theory that the two actors hated each other and refused to be present on set with one another. If Mann had showed us the two in the same shot, the audience would all be going "whooo, look at them, two greatest method actors of their generation sitting together!" Instead, we are drawn into the scene and we can concentrate better on the dialogue.