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"Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in thirty seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner."

-- Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro)

This lengthy cops 'n' robbers thriller could not fail, one may think, considering it pairs off two of the biggest legends in cinema history. Michael Mann's ambitions, however, go way beyond the inevitable pairing of Pacino and De Niro onscreen to create an absolute masterpiece of contemporary film drama. Heat is perfectly paced and incisively acted; this is not just a remarkably powerful and invigorating experience, but one of the greatest films of all time.

Most people will probably know by now that Heat showcased Pacino and De Niro acting together onscreen for the first time (both starred in The Godfather Part II, but were separated chronologically). Thankfully, Mann handled the unquestionable talent of both actors with maturity: He neither bores nor over exhausts the audience with characterizations or plot here, keeping the level of interest high from beginning to end of a three-hour-plus running time.

What keeps Heat fresh is its philosophical view of both sides of the law. Pacino is Vincent Hanna, an obsessed homicide detective who immediately takes an interest in McCauley (De Niro) and Co.'s flawless robbery of an armoured truck in downtown L.A. ("M.O.? Is that they're good... Once it escalated into a murder one beef for all of 'em after they killed the first two guards, they didn't hesitate.") Hanna's dedication and blunt honesty, however, is putting a strain on his family life at home, much to the disarray of his wife Justine (Diane Verona).

De Niro's portrayal of the ruthless thief Neil McCauley is equally as fascinating. Scared of emotional commitment and in-between the chaotic marriage of his cohort Chris (Val Kilmer) and his wife Charlene (Ashley Judd), as well committed to arranging new scores for his team (consisting of Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore and Danny Trejo), McCauley is a solid professional, but becomes shockingly brutal when he feels like he needs to be.

Both legends finally get to meet in an eagerly anticipated scene three-quarters of the way through, and what's most invigorating (and perhaps most surprising) is the two choose to exchange their life notes, rather than spray one another with bullets. Don't be put off, though, as the dialogue here provokes an ambitious study of two brilliant individuals that will make you realise why Pacino and De Niro are considered to be two of the most respected actors in film history.

Still, you'll be yearning for blood shed, and what soon follows is surely one of the biggest machine gun shoot outs on the streets to ever take place on film. At a hundred minutes, Heat is now a game of cat and mouse survival, with only one of the two legends capable of winning.

I won't spoil the ending for you, but Michael Mann does deliver a fantastic night time climax between McCauley and Hanna that will keep your adrenaline flowing well past the credits.

Don't be put off by the long running time; there's plenty of wit and energy here that is guaranteed to keep you glued from beginning to end. To say the film is good would be completely dishonest, to say the least; in truth, Heat is very, very good.

(C) Andy Carrington, 2008.