MOVIES: Heat

The other day I mentioned Heat as an example of one of Robert DeNiro's more recent great or near-great films. But I only mentioned it because it has that kind of a reputation. The truth is, I don't think it's all that good.

It's certainly long enough to be a good film, in the way any three hour movie is often automatically assumed to be epic and important. But sometimes, three hours just means bloated and boring.

It had an awfully great supporting cast, including Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Mykelti Williamson, Ted Levine, Dennis Haysbert, Natalie Portman, and many more fine performers. Basically any role with more than two lines was filled by a "name" actor. But they were all there in service of a fairly mediocre crime story. It had some good bits, some real style, a couple compelling action scenes. But mostly, I felt it was pretty obvious, and tedious in its efforts not to be obvious. The bad guy has a good streak? The good guy has problems at home? Wow, groundbreaking.

And of course there was the pairing of Pacino and DeNiro, who had once been in the same movie, but had never acted together in the same scene before. So what does writer-director Michael Mann do once he gets these two powerhouses, arguably the greatest two actors of their generation -- possibly ever -- what does he do when he gets them in the same three-hour film? He gives them one scene together. (Two, if you count their final, near-silent confrontation, but only one where they really act together.) One scene, out of three freakin' hours.

And what a dopey scene it was. They're sitting quietly in a diner, so they don't get the chance to chew the scenery as both of them do so well. And all they do is make lame, empty, dick-measuring threats to one another.

PACINO: And now that we've been face to face, if I'm there and I gotta put you away, I won't like it. But I tell you, if it's between you and some poor bastard whose wife you're gonna turn into a widow, brother, you are going down.
DENIRO: What if you do got me boxed in and I gotta put you down? Cause no matter what, you will not get in my way. We've been face to face, yeah. But I will not hesitate. Not for a second.

"Brother, you are going down." "What if I gotta put you down?" Jesus, why not just say, "I will take you down to Chinatown"? It's on the same comically-inept blowhard level as the rest of their dialogue. Thirty years, audiences have been waiting for a scene between those two. And that was all he came up with? That's pathetic.

Michael Mann is a very good, even excellent filmmaker. I loved Manhunter. I thought The Insider was brilliant. And there are a lot of good elements in Heat. But overall, I think he fell short. I think this movie earned its rep purely by coattailing on the Pacino/DeNiro factor. As a whole, it's a grandly-intentioned, well-meaning failure.