The definitive 'Cops & Robbers' movie - bar none!

Rating: 10/10 (31 March 2016)

A few days ago I finally got around to watching the much regarded 1995 'cops and robbers' movie, "Heat." I'm not a particular fan of this genre unless it is really well done, but Heat has been on my list of 'Movies to watch' for quite a while. It received high praise from most critics and seemed to have some excellent credentials
Let's face it, a movie starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, (two of my all-time favourite actors), along with John Voight, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Ashley Judd, Natalie Portman and many, many more, could hardly fail. And it didn't – even more so as it was in the hands of one of the masters of the genre, Michael Mann, who wrote and directed it.
The film is a whopping 2 hours 46 minutes, but the time just flew by, leaving me begging for more. Heat is undoubtedly one the definitive films of any era and although it was made twenty years ago, it hasn't dated at all and is still eminently watchable. Okay, the cell phones may have been a little on the large side, but that aside, this movie could have been made last year.
Al Pacino as the hard-bitten cop on a mission and whose personal life is falling apart, and Robert De Niro – the tough, no-nonsense criminal genius – both play their parts to perfection. These two towering figures of the silver screen are only seen together in two scenes.
The first meeting is about half way through the movie, when they enjoy a cup of coffee together. This is a classic confrontation between 'good and evil'; with both of them acknowledging the unstoppable forces that drive them to do what they do. They even have a grudging respect for each other – given the different paths they have chosen in life.
The second time they meet is at the end of the movie when we watch the denouement of these two mesmerizing characters played out to the bitter end.
Pacino and De Niro are totally 'on song' in this film and Mann has written their parts in a way that allows them to excel in what they do best. The supporting cast, with the likes of Kilmer and Voight (both villains), are a joy to behold and the movie is acted by an ensemble of actors that was taken from the best that Hollywood had to offer in the mid - 90's.
Of course, with Mann directing, there is plenty of violence, and a seemingly never-ending shoot-out scene ranks right up there with some of the greatest shoot-outs of all time. To say any more about Heat would spoil the movie for those who haven't yet seen it.
Even if you have, it is well worth another looksie after all these years. Go get the DVD or download it. You will NOT be disappointed.