Heat, written and directed by Michael Mann - 8.7 out of 10

Heat, written and directed by Michael Mann, 
8.7 out of 10


Heat has been acclaimed as one of the best, 'most intelligent crime-thrillers to come in years' by Variety, Austin Chronicle and The Los Angeles Times, all of which thought the movie perfect, with a score of 100 out of 100, while Newsweek and others have also been thrilled, rating it at 90 or thereabouts.

The public seems to think this is on the list of best motion pictures of all time, placed at 123.
And yet, this not perfect.

Not 100 out of 100, if you ask me.
Perhaps this in part because of the high expectations that have accompanied this feature from the moment I first learned about it.

One rule of position psychology seems to be - lower your expectations.
Or I have read about Heat in a French magazine, where it was treated like it was the treat of the century.

Al Pacino meeting Robert de Niro was supposed to be Hermes meeting Apollo, Vishnu against Shiva, Putin versus Trump...no, forget the last, which is more in the vein of Master and Servant.

Alas, Al Pacino seems to be exaggerated, self indulgent, over the top in the role of lieutenant Vincent Hanna and the lines of his character are not too convincing in some, perhaps most, circumstances.
Take the meeting he has with an informer, expecting at least a potential lead in the robbery case.

It seems false and the indications that this is such a brilliant detective that he caught the needed information as it was flying through the air looks fabricated and hard to believe.
But the main problem is the attitude of Al Pacino.

He looks like he is putting a show.
Arguably, that is the idea.

For he is acting for us, only it is not supposed to be so evident.
We are meant to think that we are learning the story of villains, victims, fools and heroes, not watch this strange actor misbehave.

Of course, he is doing the right thing...think about the fact that Variety, Newsweek and other prestigious publications have printed reviews which pertain that this is a perfect or near perfect performance.
It is the opinions expressed here that is flawed.
In my defense, I can only bring circumstantial evidence and even that would just highlights some minor potential defect of Pacino the man.
First off though, I must say that I admire his early, more subdued, reflective, restrained, introspective performances in The Godfather, Serpico, even Bobby Deerfield.

We can learn about his behavior on the set from Adventures in the Screen Trade, by the regretted Williams Goldman.
Robert de Niro, Val Kilmer and the rest of the cast are excellent.

The film is notable, albeit someway too long at 170 minutes.