Heat

release year: 1995
genre: police thriller
viewing setting: home DVD, 9/1/05 and 11/2/01
what I expected: couldn't quite remember
what I got: lengthy, complicated cops-and-robbers drama with lots of action

synopsis: Neil leads a group of professional thieves; Vincent leads a group of police detectives. When the thieves set their sights on a really big score, the battle of wits (and eventually, bullets) is on.

impressions: This is as close as you can get to an epic police thriller. Each side has a strong, brilliant, charismatic leader and a number of unique members and contacts. The thieves start the movie with one daring daylight robbery, setting the tone, and the action never slows down. There are also some issues that characters, both cops and thieves, have to sort out (example: when to put family before career.) All in all, this is a tightly-scripted, tightly-directed masterpiece. If you like it, you should also see Thief by the same director, Michael Mann.

things to watch for: long walking shootout in broad daylight, following bank robbery

acting: Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino are outstanding as the two leads. Also turning in good supporting perfomances are Tom Sizemore, Val Kilmer, and Jon Voight as colleagues of Neil's.

final word: A must-see crime drama/action.

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