THE best heist film ever made.

Rating: Null/10 (20 February 2010)

I believe that Michael Mann wasn't completely satisfied with Thief, or perhaps he thought he could do more and improve upon the genre. He was right, there is no better heist film out there.
The realism of this film is one of the main reasons for it's success. The viewer is taken into this criminal underworld and we believe it all, there is no reason to suspend disbelief like you have to with so many "Hollywood" films out there. Ex SAS soldier Andy Mcnab was a weapons adviser to the film and in an interview he stated that Mann was completely obsessed with getting the realism of the gunfight. As many will agree, the thrilling downtown gunfight is one of the best scenes in the film.
Mann made LA look beautiful too, there were shots that created such a strong mood, and that complimented the characters and the moment perfectly.
The characters have a lot of depth too, we understand what drives all of the main cast, especially De Niro and Pacinos characters. The cat and mouse between Pacino and De Niro and his crew is brilliant, there aren't many directors who could pull off a scene where the two face off in a roadside café/restaurant.
Finally the ending is spot on, I won't reveal it here but it isn't something expected and works so well because of such great character development on De Niros part.