Heat

Rating:
Summary: Why does everyone think this movie so great?
Review: I bought this DVD because it was a bestseller and had so many great reviews. Not to mention the great actors in this movie. But this movie blows. It falls short in so many areas i wonder if the reviewers have ever seen a good movie. Way to long, only 1 good long action scene, and the ending has to be one of the worst ever. There was no suspense in the Pacino/DeNiro face off it was so damn boring i fast forwarded it till someone got shot. Seriously people rent this DVD before you watch it star power alone doesn't make a movie good.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: Probably the most intelligent, well-acted action/crime thriller you'll ever see. The cast is incredible, with Pacino and DeNiro heading the talent. But, one of the things that makes a movie great are the memories that it leaves with you. Here are four that I took from it:

Diner Scene - Pacino and DeNiro trading thinly veiled threats at each other, though at the same time demonstrating a sort of professional respect (and even admiration) for each other. You get the feeling they'd be best friends if not for their diametrically-opposed vocations. BTW, there's a rumor they were not actually filmed together; in fact you never see both of them at the table at the same time. I don't believe the rumor but the fact is true.

Balcony Scene with Pacino and Brenneman - typical Mann scene. The perfect background music and scenery pick you right off the sofa and plunk you down right there with the actors. I could have sworn I was in LA standing on that balcony, feeling the warm West coast breeze and gazing at the lights of LA.

Bank Robbery - in one word, intense. Absolutely one of the best gun battles in any film of any era. Turn up the volume on your home theater and enjoy.

Armored Car Robbery - what a fantastic way to open up the movie. Thrilling (and disturbing) from the start.

Conclusion: Every now and then a movie comes around that is at a higher level of the movie industry craft than the rest of the mediocre stuff out there. This is surely one of those, a movie you'll definitely remember.

Rating:
Summary: Heat burns a little too long
Review: Only a writer/director would have got away with keeping the script as long, complicated and sub-plot heavy as Heat is. Not that it isn't a great movie, because it is, not that there aren't valid reasons for every second of screen time, because there are. Still gripping and enthralling as it is, as excellent as the directing and acting is, you can't help but feel a shorter more focused 'Heat' might be on everyones top ten films of the 90's. Still it is an engrossing look at two very similar men, one a cop and one a master criminal, and the two teams who work for them. The whole point of the film is show that there is just a sliver of a difference between the bad guy and the good guy. The Cops are just as willing to shoot to kill as the Robbers, and seem to have a similar level of concern for the innocent bystander. This is an interesting thread to work from, and work from it Michael Mann does. If you have never seen this movie, or even have not seen it for a while pick it up on DVD, it should be available at sub $15 prices, and I am sure you will enjoy watching it enough times to warrant that price.

Rating:
Summary: Although it's not the only movie...
Review: ...to suffer from the new school of sound-taking, which is able to put the mike inside the muzzle of the guns or the copters' engines, but is unable to get close to the mouth of the actors, this one is a good example. I think a good feature for DVDs should include separate soundtracks (and of course separate settings for them) for the dialogues and background noises, so you can enjoy the first without alarming the whole neighbourhood by the last.

Could the producers have some mercy (even if no respect) for those who persist to think that the special effects should remain "special", and not become the main feature in a movie? Or go back to the old school, like "Apocalypse Now", where, even with a lot more gunshots, explosions, helicopters' noises, but the sound balance is far better, which is not preventing it to be a very good movie; Heat would have been much more enjoyable with the same sound levels: just meditate over what is said in the beginning about the guard unable to hear (and understand) anything because of the blast.

Rating:
Summary: Sweeping Crime Epic. Deniro & Pacino scene was faked, though
Review: This film is possibly the best crime drama ever filmed. While long, the viewer's interest is maintained throughout. A detailed in depth look at the lives of cops and robbers that show each character to be a fully realized human and not mere stereotypes. The shootout after the bank heist is overwhelming, and served as the inspiration for a real-life crime. Mann's stylish direction sets the perfect mood, and the soundtrack is wonderful. One comment on the famous coffee shop scene between DeNiro and Pacino. Watch it again. They are NEVER in the same frame together. When you see one's face, you only see the back of the other's head. I think they were never on the set together and their lines were filmed separately with stand ins for the other's back-of-the-head. It's still a great scene, but you can't say they were really acting with each other.

Rating:
Summary: Well-constructed crime flick
Review: Heat, created by the acclaimed Michael Mann (The Insider), is a great (but long) crime movie about bank robbers and the men who attempt to pursue them in Los Angeles. It is fascinating to see Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino in a movie together, altough strangely you can never see the two mens' faces on the screen at the same time at any point in the movie. Val Kilmer is also effective as the wild yet driven bank robber who cannot settle down with his estranged wife, played by Ashely Judd. However, this movie belongs to Pacino and DeNiro, who play two men obssessed with completing their ulterior motives. DeNiro wants to complete that final heist, and Pacino wants to track DeNiro down. Besides some flat dialogue and a peculiar performance by Jon Voight, this movie was greatly underrated by the critics and public.

Rating:
Summary: Al Pacino vs. Robert DeNiro
Review: When I finished watching Heat, I was left asking myself, So who's the tougher wiseguy? Al Pacino or Robert DeNiro? I think that if Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro are gonna be in the same movie at all, they should both be bad guys. I would've like the movie Heat more if it was about the showdown between two rival crimelords, Pacino and DeNiro. But no, Heat is a cops and robbers movie. Cop Al Pacino and robber Robert DeNiro are so dedicated to their proffession that they both become tragic figures. And there are suppose to be life lessons to be learned and all. Booring. One part in the movie I particularly enjoyed was the shooting scene after the bank robbery. The calmness is abruptly halted when shots rang out downtown, and you can hear the echoes trailing down the blocks. Then you hear the panicking crowd of bystanders and the police sirens. In less than a minute there's an urban warzone, with shots firing from automatic weapons and glass shattering. The DVD sound really plants you right amidst the crossfire. If you have a DVD player, and you're gonna Heat, get the DVD version so you can experience this rush.

Rating:
Summary: What a cast!
Review: Kevin Gage is electrifying - steals every scene he is in! Holds his own with DeNiro!

Rating:
Summary: Great movie, but where's the extras
Review: First beef I have with this dvd release is the total lack of extras. I don't really consider a trailer an extra.

But as for the movie, its a great crime, action, drama flick. Huge name cast did a great job. This is a great film to watch on a Friday or Saturday night when theres nothing else to do.

Rating:
Summary: Best movie i have ever seen
Review: The first time I saw Heat I didnt think it was all that great of a movie. But after seeing it again, I actually realized how great of a movie it is. It isnt just about cops and robbers, it is about how lonely some peoples lives are. This is my favorite role of De Niro's. I thought he was amazing. Everyone in it was great, and you truely do care for everyone in its well being. Of course the shootout scene is a great action scene. It is very intense and at the same time realistic. I think that the last scene with De Niro and Pacino in it is one of the greatest scenes in a movie ever. Every thing in it from the music to the lines is great. If there is one movie you have to see make it this one, and dont see it just one time. It wont seem half as good.