A masterpiece of modern cinema

Rating: 10/10 (27 February 2003)

Heat is an excellent film. Period. It uses characters to move the plot around instead of violence and you get to feel the pain of every character. The acting is superb, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are excellent, not their best performances though. The supporting cast is equally as impressive, great work by (a young) Natalie Portman, John Voight, William Finchter, Tom Sizemore, etc. Micheal Mann keeps the violence on a low level, there are only a couple of scenes in this movie that have shooting and they're extremely well done. The script is smart, each character has their own life, their own personality, and you can relate to some of them. The cinematography is amazing, though I can't picture LA being quite so dreamlike. The ending is satisfying, but sad as well. There is also the memorable bank robbing scene in this movie that is one of the best action sequences in cinematic history. The music is crisp and fits like a glove with the tone of the film, especially the end credits song by Moby. This film also teaches you about morals and crime, and how peoples actions can so easily dictate the rest of their lives. A beautiful tale that is only hurt by its length (2 hours 52 minutes). 10/10