Heat
- Nathan
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
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.