Robbing banks seems to be an odd obsession of those in the movie industry as this particular crime has been majorly exploited in films. Some have even gone as far as calling it a victimless crime as long as no one is harmed when doing it. Unfortunately in the movie Heat, a lot of people get harmed, so that notion gets cast to the side fairly quick. The 1995 feature embodies more than just armed robbery though, even taking the extras steps to humanize the characters on both sides of the law as well as in examining their personal flaws.
Heat hosts a cast of elite performers. Legendary actors Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Danny Trejo, and Jon Voight bring Michael Mann’s written and directed piece to life in a story about thievery, romance, catastrophe, and suspense.
Heat hosts a cast of elite performers. Legendary actors Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Danny Trejo, and Jon Voight bring Michael Mann’s written and directed piece to life in a story about thievery, romance, catastrophe, and suspense. De Niro leads a professional crew as Neil, an ex con who hopes to land one last job with his team that would see them sail away into the sunset financially. The one thing standing in their way is Detective Hanna (Pacino), he of whom aims to foil anymore more attempts from Neil and his crew to steal or kill anyone else. Michael Mann’s film is an exciting action/drama with just the right touch of humanity.
Writing and directing a film is so ambitious that few filmmakers are able to do both on the big stage, but Mann is a proven professional with his unveiling of Heat. His dialogue is appropriate for the time period, his plot is compelling, and the themes he explores make Heat more than just a one dimensional narrative about knocking over armoured trucks or banks. As casting is half the battle, Mann must also garner some praise for his selection of actors; especially for the decision to add Pacino and De Niro as co-leads. Heat shows the two veterans at peak performance levels. De Niro is far more stoic in nature than audiences are used to seeing from him as Neil. He passes as a man who keeps calm until it’s time to revert back to his violent roots. Pacino is more animated than normal, erratic even, depending upon whose company he’s in. His interactions with criminals or informants is a stark contrast to his demeanor when investigating a crime scene. How they develop and where things end up hinged on Pacino and De Niro’s acting ability in tandem with Mann’s directorial oversight.
Heat embodies the saying “they just don’t make them like they used to”. There have been heist films that come close to rivalling Heat but for the most part, anything that has come after appears to take plays out of Mann’s playbook or even outright copies it. The movies of note that came later certainly explore things with their own nuance, but even those films tend to feature ‘robbery’ as incidental to the actual story as opposed to being directly about it. Heat however, is a soon to be classic that sits in a class of its own.
