Heat
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DVD Cover Information Actor: Al Pacino, Jon Voight, Robert De Niro, Tom Sizemore, Val Kilmer Director: Michael Mann Brand: Warner Brothers Writer: Michael Mann DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1 Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen Picture Format: 2.35:1 Running Time: 170 minutes DVD Release Date: 2007-05-15 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Model: 116316 Studio: Warner Home Video Product features:
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Movie Reviews of Heat
Movie Review: Lukewarm
Summary: 3 Stars
How does a movie written and directed
by Michael Mann and starring
Al Pacino and Robert De Niro go wrong?
When all three of those guys,
in particular, Al Pacino,
do not show up with their A-game.
I purchased this DVD with the impression
that it could not fail to be great movie
due to its pedigree.
It turned out to be a mediocre movie with
some great action sequences and saved
from being lame otherwise by some good
supporting roles.
The primary actors were disappointing.
De Niro and Pacino both seemed
to be reprising former roles
and one could not help but seeing
them as De Niro and Pacino,
rather than fictional characters
in a story.
That's called poor acting,
or to be kind to them,
poor screenwriting and directing.
If one had never seen either of those
actors in a film, it would probably
have worked out well,
but there are few movie viewers out
there in that category.
Both men have been movie stars
for decades.
Pacino, in particular, was ridiculous
and unbelievable much of the time.
Michael Mann manufactured some excellent
scenes, but overall, the movie seemed
to be lacking something that he usually
brings.
It doesn't compare well to "Collateral"
or "Manhunter", which are masterpieces
and highly recommended.
The juxtaposition of crazed criminals
and a crazed policeman as family men
and boyfriends did not really work for me.
What's the point?
That sociopaths who will open fire
with submachine guns on a crowded
city street are somehow complex
individuals with feelings.
It might have worked had it been
done differently, but as it was,
I wanted to get back to cops and robbers.
The relationships, other than the one
between Neil McCauley(De Niro) and
Eady(Amy Brenneman) were meaningless
subplots.
Subplot overdose was achieved with the
addition of a teenage girl attempting
suicide which temporarily sidelined
our "hero".
In trying to do too much,
a disservice was done to the whole.
It would have been a much better film
had the "crew" and its activities been
more prominent, perhaps adding some of
their history, like how they became
a team, and spending more time with
the planning stages of the "scores".
It would have been a better film if
Pacino were on the crew, instead of
opposed to it. His persona didn't
work as a policeman, but the tension
of two similar, and at the same time
quite different, strong-willed crew
members would have been interesting.
We don't even know what happened to
all the crew members.
Did Chris escape capture because
his wife wouldn't betray him after
he refused to abandon her?
Is that a good thing?
Isn't he the madman who initiated a
city block's metamorphosis into
a war zone.
Lt. Hanna (Pacino), certainly would
not have let that go.
Then again, you might say that the
police were responsible for the terror
and tragedy of that firefight.
Better to let the crew have the money
or track them down later than allow
a deadly mess like that to develop.
I do not diminish its greatness as an
action scene for the movie
which gets back to the original point
about this being a mediocre movie
with some very cool action sequences.
Now that I have come full circle,
I offer a clarification.
This is a mediocre movie,
but in the upper class.
I recommend it,
but remain disappointed.
I had very high expectations.
It was like going to a fine steakhouse
and getting a fast food burger.
I like fast food burgers, but...
nb: I needed to keep my DVD remote handy
because the volume needed to be adjusted
periodically throughout the movie.
The volume levels went from loud stuff
to hard to hear dialog.