A definite keeper, except for one thing. (*Warning: contains spoilers*)

Rating: 8/10 (22 April 2002)

Warning #2: This review contains a certain amount of spoilers. You may not want to read it if you have not already seen the movie.
In my opinion, this movie handles a good deal of the things I'm hoping to see when I lean back into the chair - it has action, but is not driven by it, and I would not call it an action movie. It illustrates in a good way the interpersonal relationships of people torn by their calls in life, and how two men on different sides of the law can come to respect each other. I didn't expect this to come out good, but the meeting, and the respect growing between Vincent (Pacino) and Neil (De Niro) is skillfully done.
A very big part of this credit is due to the people behind it allowing the story to take its time to unfold, resulting in a movie 170 minutes long - this is a good thing. It gives you time to get to know the characters, and the plot and story rarely seem hastened, as is the case with a lot of movies nowadays.
The length also, of course, allows for the buildup in suspense, another one of the Heat's strong sides - from Vincent and Neil not knowing about each other, via being brought to each other's attention and meeting over a coffee, to the inevitable showdown in the end.
And this brings me to the big downside of Heat - the ending. Suddenly a lid is put on all the suspense, and you realize that like with 99 out of 100 Hollywood movies, it has to end with the good guys winning the day and the bad guys getting what's coming to them.
In one way, this could be argued for: Neil ends up breaking his own rule about not letting anything or anyone get in the way of his escape when he can, as he puts it, "spot the heat around the corner." But mayhap his newfound love and his final decision to go for revenge rather than safety brings about his end.
His partner Chris (Val Kilmer) on the other hand, makes the decision to leave his wife and child behind and flee (or at least lay low), when he finds out it isn't safe to meet up with them - and as far as we know, he gets away.
Still though, this does little to diminish the over-all predictable element of the movie. It may not be a particularly happy ending for anyone, as all who survive have had to give something up to achieve their goals, but as so often, the hunter gets his prey, and case closed. In my opinion, this is what limits Heat and keeps it on the "definitely a good one"-level, while falling short of - to borrow a line from "Swordfish" - pushing the envelope.