LET’S GET PHYSICAL: HEAT (1995) ***

FORMAT:  4K UHD (REWATCH)

ORIGINAL REVIEW:  

(As posted on April 15th, 2012)

Whenever a director remakes his own film, it can be a bit odd, and the results can be mixed. Heat is Michael Mann’s remake of his TV movie L.A. Takedown. Because it stars Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, I’d say this is one case where a remake was justified.

Yeah, Heat is a pretty big deal pairing of two living legends (and Val Kilmer too). The downside is that their screen time together is very brief. Also, the length is a bit of an issue too because it really didn’t need to be three hours long. Essentially, what we have is two 90-minute movies. One features De Niro planning and executing heists and the other has policeman Pacino trying to catch him. They only occasionally intersect, but there are plenty of sparks between them, so you tend not to notice that the storyline is a bit thin. (After three goddamned hours, all we learn is that Criminals Are People Too and Cops Have a Personal Lives, Ya Know.) Because Mann has to split time between Pacino and De Niro, he has to switch gears fairly often throughout the course of the movie. Not enough to completely derail the film, but it does get a bit irksome after a while.

The first act is kinda slow and the big heist is staged rather clumsily (people just kinda run around firing guns), but the third act is by far the most interesting. It’s here where we see all of the characters’ decisions catching up with them. I particularly liked the scene at the end (SPOILER) where De Niro breaks his personal code, which causes him to get caught. My favorite scene though is when Kilmer is about to be reunited with his wife (Ashley Judd) and she warns him to stay away. It’s a rather touching scene and is just as memorable as the showier and highly touted Pacino/De Niro verbal showdown.

Pacino has a couple moments where he overacts to the point of gorging on the scenery. Mostly, he goes over the top when he’s shaking down and/or intimidating suspects and snitches. Not that I’m complaining, because his blustering keeps potentially stale scenes popping. Conversely, De Niro underplays things; perhaps a bit too much. His love subplot also kinda slows things down, but he’s aces whenever he’s commanding his crew. The supporting cast is stellar too as Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Diane Verona, Natalie Portman, Jon Voight, Danny Trejo, and Tom Noonan turn in damned fine performances.

Mann directed The Insider next.

QUICK THOUGHTS:

I know this isn’t a popular opinion, but I’ve always considered Heat to be on the good, not great spectrum.  Most of the problems have to do with the unwieldy length.  There’s nothing wrong with the performances (especially whenever Pacino is chewing the scenery), and it’s fun seeing De Niro and Pacino on screen matching wits even if it’s only for a few precious moments.  The action is fairly strong too, but there’s just too many lulls in between the good stuff for me to call this one a classic. 

4K UHD NOTES:  

This was the first disc I bought after getting a 4K player for Christmas.  I picked it up for only $7 at Best Buy (a few weeks before they stopped selling physical media).  I’d say I got my money’s worth as the transfer is fine, but nothing that exactly knocks your socks off.  I thought the picture looked a little dark in places, and after I watched it, I found out online that apparently Mann tinkered with the color timing for this version.  So, if you’re a die-hard fan of its original incarnation, I’d say stick with your old Blu-Ray or DVD.  Then again, if you can pick this up for under $10 like I did, I’d say it would be worth adding to your collection.