Heat doesn't provide much heat

Rating: 7/10 (25 October 2010)

I saw Heat when it first came out to theaters back in 1995. I also recently saw The Town. Many people claim Heat is the better picture and that Town took its story and basic plot elements from Heat.
Even though there are similarities, I think The Town doesn't deserve most of the criticism and Heat doesn't deserve most of the acclaim. In my opinion Heat is way too long. The director (Michael Mann whom I like) wanted to show too much about the personal love affairs of the characters. I know this was done for the purpose of character development but it was too shallow and didn't develop anything. It was too shallow because the problem of each love affair was the same: character's job (either police or criminal). And the same thing was repeated for all 3 characters, Vincent (Al Pacino), Neil (Robert De Niro) and Chris (Val Kilmer). They all have problems in their relationships. I think the movie is trying to do too much; it should have either focused on the relationships of characters and made it a drama or should have focused on the crime aspect and made it action/suspense. For example, in the beginning we see Al Pacino making love to his wife, taking a shower, all long scenes, and then there are scenes where his step daughter Lauren (Natalie Portman) is arguing with his mother because she is unhappy about her father. I thought these scenes really didn't add anything to the story.
I also think the some scenes in Heat is too much Hollywoodized - it's funny because most people actually make this accusation about the Town. My examples are ******SPOILER ALERT*****: Robert De Niro is supposedly a very disciplined character (so disciplined that he can leave everything behind if he senses the heat around the corner). But then we see him slapping one of his team members in a diner where everyone is watching. Tom Sizemore gives a dirty look to one of the patrons. I thought this scene was totally Hollywoodish to show they are really tough guys. Why would a disciplined criminal would beat up his team member in a diner? That would draw attention and is risky. Later we see them outside the diner trying to finish up the job. They are about to take care of the guy but they lose him, right in front of their eyes. All these scenes made me dislike The Heat. Also at the very end, it is the wrong guy who gets shot. It is the wrong guy because he had major advantage over the other guy who should have been the one to get shot. That scene was poorly designed*******.
There are good things about heat. It is a fine crime/drama. Robert De Niro is great although I find his romantic affair to be unrealistic and lack of feeling. I think Heat probably deserves a rating of 7. I also predict that within a year or so, The Town will surpass Heat's rating.