Heat

James Berardinelli is one of the critics I pay attention to (along with Glenn Kenny and Roger Ebert), and in general, I agree with his reviews or at least his ratings, but on this film I think he really missed the boat. His review describes this caper heist film with a (big) twist as follows: "not only is it not a great movie, but it's not even an especially good one." How could he miss the overtones of loyalty, trust, and obsession that are strewn liberally throughout this film? It's not like this hasn't been done before in many other suspense or crime films, but I've never seen it done with such craft and style before. Michael Mann is known for big pictures in which he goes all out to get the right effect. This picture is full of effects (and by effects I mean both stylistic and plot-driven); it's hard to know where to start. If I had to pick two, I'd say the warehouse-trailer scene (watch for the camera technique) and the incredibly noisy and over-the-top bank job that goes awry (such a long sequence, but never boring). He also tends to be a master of music placement (remember the music from Last of the Mohicans?; I still do) and coaxing perfect characterizations out of his actors. Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, well, it's hard to say anything negative about their performances, but Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd, William Fichtner, Diane Venora and Kevin Gage -- holy cow, are they spot-on or what? If any of you saw Far From Heaven, I defy you to pick out Dennis Haybert the first time he appears. Now, that's a character actor for you.

year: 1995
length: 171 min.
rating: 4.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113277/combined