Heat

7.2/10 stinky bananas

A really good movie that falls off HARD in the final act.

I got lots to say, and I don't really feel like writing full sentences, so this review is going to have a healthy serving of point form. If you don't like it then... "that's too damn bad" - Sigourney Weaver's Grandpa in Holes.

Anyway, here's what I like:

• Pacino's performance is truly unhinged and I absolutely love it.

• The whole cast put in great performances, De Niro and Pacino are a cut above the rest.

• The diner scene with Pacino and De Niro is a brilliant piece of filmmaking, from the acting to the writing to the directing. It's perfect. No notes.

• The gunfight in the streets is unreal. Fantastic work.

• Trejo's death is a hard watch. In a good way.

• Very quotable movie. Tons of great lines.

Here's what I don't like:

• De Niro, a seasoned criminal, somehow loses the crazy-serial-killer-Nazi guy right before he's about to execute him. Maybe, throw a knee on him so he can't sprint away when you're not looking? Just an idea.

• The last 35 minutes or so of the movie is utterly ridiculous. It brings the movie to a screeching halt.

  • De Niro and Pacino's romantic subplots. Seriously, who the fuck cares about those two women? Absolutely no one, that's who.

  • Natalie Portman's suicide attempt. Honestly, where the fuck did that come from? It's completely out of left field and it's irrelevant to the plot of the film. Bizarre.

  • Val Kilmer getting through a roadblock specifically designed to catch him. One of the most brutal oversights in filmmaking history. You're telling me none of the cops knows what he looks like. Oh, he's got a fake ID, I guess he's good to go. He's probably one of the most wanted men in America and you got fooled by the oldest trick in the book? What a disgrace.

• I don't like the final chase scene on the tarmac. Pacino and De Niro running around like that was silly as hell. So silly.

If this movie is a baseball game, and Michael Mann (director) is the pitcher, he threw a perfect game through 8 innings, and then gave up 5 homers in the bottom of the 9th to lose the World Series. That might be a little harsh, but it really feels like Mann fumbles what could've been a historically great movie. See ya.