Heat: "...A couple of regular fellows..."

"We’re sittin’ here like a couple of regular fellows…you do what you do, and I do what I gotta do..."

...Those "couple of regular fellows" are Vincent Hanna (played by Al Pacino), a brilliant Detective Lieutenant with the Los Angeles Police Department; and Neil McCauley (played by Robert DeNiro), an equally brilliant leader of a gang of professional hold-up men. These are the two main characters in Heat, a fabulously acted, written, and directed police drama released in 1995.

Billed as "A Los Angeles Crime saga," Heat is one of the finest crime dramas to come out of Hollywood in a long time! It’s the story of two charismatic men on opposite sides of the law, the men who work for them, and the women who love them. With its two superstar co-lead actors (Pacino and DeNiro), and an equally outstanding supporting cast, this movie provides nearly three hours of spine-tingling suspense and superb action.

Neil McCauley is a true professional in his chosen line of work. He is smart, dedicated, daring, innovative, and a superior leader of men. Those who work for him respect and admire him, and give him their unswerving loyalty. Only one problem: Neil is a professional thief. He is also coldly ruthless, cunning, and will hesitate at nothing – including murder – to get his way.

Neil’s nemesis is Lieutenant Vincent Hanna, a brilliant, dedicated, highly decorated leader of a task force investigating major crimes in Los Angeles. Hanna is a man possessed with an intellect and leadership skills equal to that of McCauley. His professional dedication is beginning to take a toll on his third marriage. His drug-dependent, depressive wife, Justine, is rapidly becoming disillusioned and disaffected with him.

A battle of wits and wills becomes inevitable between these two extraordinary men. The chain of events begins with a mid-day armored car heist on a busy Los Angeles street. The heist is supposed to be a straightforward affair, but it goes awry when one of McCauley’s henchmen – a last-minute addition to the crew – shoots one of the armored car guards. Without hesitation, the gang executes the other two guards and departs the scene.

Enter Vince Hanna and his crack team of detectives. A "cat-and-mouse" game begins as Hanna, without a clue as to who is responsible, begins an investigation of the robbery and triple murder. All the while, Neil and his crew do not remain idle. They already have one "operation" planned and ready to go, and are in the initial stages of planning a multi-million dollar bank robbery.

How this "cat-and-mouse" game between Hanna and McCauley plays out forms the central theme and exciting climax to Heat. 'Nuff said here by me; enjoy the movie to find out the details!

The hallmark of any great action movie is the action scenes. Heat abounds with them, and all of them are very good indeed. The armored car heist at the beginning of Heat is a harbinger of action scenes to come. The spectacular collision between the massive Peterbilt Diesel tow truck (one of those big monsters used to tow eighteen-wheelers and other ultra-heavy vehicles) and the armored car is impressive indeed! The armored car is sent careening on its side into a used car lot, where it initiates an incredible chain reaction of car crashes.

The bank robbery scene and the police chase in the immediate aftermath of the robbery are the best action sequences in the entire movie. They rank, in my view, among the best action sequences in movies of recent years. As Neil and his crew depart the bank, with huge money-stuffed duffel bags over their shoulders and fully loaded automatic weapons in their hands, Vince Hanna, his detectives, and dozens of SWAT and uniformed police officers (all armed to the teeth with automatic weapons as well) arrive to apprehend them. Gunfire erupts and the ensuing battle, fought over several city blocks, takes on the grim, fiery appearance of urban combat, complete with civilian casualties. This ten-minute long scene is grand in its scope, perfectly executed, chillingly realistic, and positively gripping to watch.

The acting in Heat is uniformly superb! Of course, that’s to be expected with two of America’s finest actors – Pacino and DeNiro – heading the cast. Each of these men play their parts to perfection – Pacino, the angst-ridden, hard-as-nails, slightly burned out LAPD detective, totally dedicated to stopping and apprehending Neil McCauley and his gang; and DeNiro, the coldly calculating gang leader – soft spoken, betraying no outward hint of his violent nature, and a man alone in the world.

Perhaps the most interesting scene in Heat occurs about an hour into the movie, when Vince Hanna and Neil McCauley sit down for a cup of coffee. This scene, recently rated by TV Guide as one of the 50 best movie scenes ever, is the first time Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro have ever acted in the same scene together. The scene by itself makes the movie worth watching. It’s simply a marvelous display of acting. DeNiro and Pacino are perfectly natural, each allowing the other actor to display his talents freely, without a trace of ego. There’s no dramatic bombast, no verbal pyrotechnics … simply a couple of "regular fellows" engaged in a low-key conversation just before the action really begins…

Heat’s superbly talented supporting cast certainly is equal to the task of playing alongside DeNiro and Pacino. Especially noteworthy are Diane Verona as Justine Hanna; Amy Brenneman as Neil’s girlfriend Eady; and Ashley Judd as Charlene Shiherlis. None of the female characters are particularly strong, but these fine actors make the most of some mediocre writing, bringing some added dimension to their characters. Michael Sizemore as Michael Cheritto; Val Kilmer as Chris Shiherlis; and Jon Voight as Nate are excellent as Neil’s henchmen, as are Mykelti Williamson and Ted Levine as two LAPD detectives.

For the most part, Heat’s screenplay, written by director Michael Mann, is very well written. As I stated earlier, the female characters aren’t particularly strong, although the actors do a nice job of bailing out Mann’s main weakness in the script. Occasionally, the screenplay lapses into the realm of silliness and unreality, such as that moment when Justine Hanna, Vince’s about to be estranged wife, tells him during an argument: "You don't live with me, you live among the remnants of dead people. You sift through the detritus, you read the terrain…" I mean, really... when was the last time you used "detritus" and "remnants" in a domestic argument? Thirty years I’ve been married, and never once have I uttered the word "detritus" in a dispute with my wife!!

As good an action film as Heat is, it’s not all action. By accident or design (it’s hard to tell which), director/writer Michael Mann included several fascinating sub-themes. The ones I found especially intriguing were the relationships between Vince and Justine, and between Neil and Eady. There are striking similarities in the way each man treats his female partner – Vince refusing to share the job-related aspects of his life with Justine, and Neil ready to "walk away from a relationship in 30 seconds if circumstances warrant it." Contrast that with how each man treats the members of his "crew:" in each case, they are considerate, caring, inspiring, tough-minded, and extremely capable.

Heat is definitely a film best viewed in widescreen format, preferably on DVD. There are some positively stunning aerial shots of Los Angeles at various times of night – dusk, dawn, and midnight. The panoramic view of this great city ablaze with lights is almost completely lost in the "formatted for TV" VHS versions. Many action sequences also suffer from the "pan and scan" versions of the film.

Heat is a long film – 2 hours, 52 minutes – and there are a few places where the film’s pace lags. But, the spectacular action scenes, magnificent acting, and gorgeous cinematography (in the widescreen version) more than compensate for the movie’s few weaknesses.

My verdict: well worth viewing, more than once (especially for Pacino and DeNiro fans). Enjoy!!