Heat (1995)

User Review

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  TheMovieDiorama

  8 / 10

  Heat is one heck of a classy crime thriller. What Michael Mann did here was set a bar for future crime films. Many might regard this as a classic, whilst it does keep me enthralled it unfortunately has some drawbacks. Firstly the acting is great, from Al Pacino as an experienced detective to Robert De Niro as the sophisticated criminal. The action scenes were well shot and exciting, the shootout scene is one of the best I've seen in a film. The final confrontation is also noteworthy and the last camera shot was rather symbolic of the similarities between our main characters. The story perfectly explores the differences and similarities between the police force and the crew of criminals and ultimately hones in on the psychology of choice. Choosing freedom over love. Work over family. The characters undertake several choices which define the consequences to follow, I thought that was explored well. Also got to mention the dialogue in the first confrontation in the café, just sublime. The long marathon runtime does feel like an endurance test occasionally and some subplots felt forced, mainly Natalie Portman's character and the replacement driver. In saying that, this is a masterclass crime thriller that everyone needs to check out...it's aged pretty well.

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