Heat is one of the most underrated movies of all time . . . probably because of its inaccurate reputation as a “shoot ‘em up” action movie. Great cast, awesome story line, and compelling dialogue. Riveting, dramatic scenes, too.
Absolutely agree. It is definitely more than an action movie. Not a movie critic so won’t try to act like one but Heat operates on multiple levels and I think something different about it everytime I watch it.
I think Heat is great, but it has a bad ending. Like a number of Mann movies, it goes on about 20-30 minutes too long. Should have ended with Pacino in the hotel room and DeNiro and his crew having gotten away. It would have been great. Having DeNiro go back to the hotel for Waingrow and the whole scene at the airport was totally unrealistic and din’t fit at all with the characters.
"Heat" also has some notable flaws: the domestic strife experienced by Pacino's cop character was more distracting than entertaining; De Niro's intensity overwhelmed Pacino in their meeting; and "Heat" mostly neglected a key point about criminals that "Goodfellas," "Godfather," and other crime movies make good use of: the pathological impulsiveness, stupidity, and waywardness of criminals.