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Heat (1995)

tomatometer

86

Average Rating: 7.7/10
Reviews Counted: 58
Fresh: 50 | Rotten: 8

Though Al Pacino and Robert De Niro share but a handful of screen minutes together, Heat is an engrossing crime drama that draws compelling performances from its stars -- and confirms Michael Mann's mastery of the genre.

82

Average Rating: 7.2/10
Critic Reviews: 17
Fresh: 14 | Rotten: 3

Though Al Pacino and Robert De Niro share but a handful of screen minutes together, Heat is an engrossing crime drama that draws compelling performances from its stars -- and confirms Michael Mann's mastery of the genre.

audience

92

liked it
Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 186,649

My Rating

Movie Info

A successful career criminal considers getting out of the business after one last score, while an obsessive cop desperately tries to put him behind bars in this intelligent thriller written and directed by Michael Mann. Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) is a thief who specializes in big, risky jobs, such as banks and armored cars. He's very good at what he does; he's bright, methodical, and has honed his skills as a thief at the expense of his personal life, vowing never to get involved in a

R, 2 hr. 52 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Action & Adventure

Jul 27, 1999

Warner Bros.

Cast

All Critics (58) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (58) | Rotten (10) | DVD (39)

Heat occupies an exalted position among the countless contemporary crime films.

October 16, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Robert De Niro's last great role before he devoted himself to self-parody.

August 14, 2007 Comment (1)
Rolling Stone
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As Heat progresses, its sensational looks pale beside storytelling weaknesses that expose the more soulless aspects of this cat-and-mouse crime tale.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comments (14)
New York Times
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Michael Mann and a superlative cast have taken a classic heist movie rife with familiar genre elements and turned it into a sleek, accomplished piece of work, meticulously controlled and completely involving.

February 13, 2001 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | Comment
Los Angeles Times
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For a film that deserves Oscars for photography, editing, sound and arguably scoring, Heat is packed with unforgettable subcharacters.

January 1, 2000 Comments (3)
USA Today
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All this adds good weight and tension to the movie and provides a lot of very good actors with the opportunity to do honest, probing work in a context where, typically, less will do.

January 1, 2000 Comment
TIME Magazine
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A stealth epic, framing an urban jungle and making its own kind of contemporary history by pairing acting giants Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino in what has arguably become the preminent cops-and-robbers movie. [Blu-ray]

February 16, 2010 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | Comments (7)

Quite rightly, this confirmed Mann as one of Hollywood's smartest, most stylish and emotionally articulate directors.

November 27, 2009 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comments (4)

One of the best cops-and-robbers crime dramas ever made gets even better in this excellent Blu-ray high-definition transfer. (Blu-ray Edition)

October 30, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

I have always wondered if Pacino and De Niro flipped a coin before the movie began shooting to see which of them would play which part?

October 30, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

A slow-moving, overburdened, well-meant and at times quite entertaining slog.

June 19, 2009 Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | Comment
Antagony & Ecstasy

The director's signature sleek and romantic aesthetic is reason enough to take a seat for this operatic three-hour marathon.

April 28, 2009 Full Review Source: AskMen.com | Comment (1)

Fascinante por se concentrar em dois homens que, obcecados por suas profissões, acabam dependendo um do outro justamente por não saberem fazer outra coisa.

August 16, 2008 Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | Comment
Cinema em Cena

I admire Mann's emotional commitment and his sense of style, but it also grates on me.

December 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Bullz-Eye.com | Comment
Bullz-Eye.com

This is simply the best American crime movie -- and indeed, one of the finest movies, period -- in over a decade.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

With De Niro and Pacino in excellent form, Mann's Heat ignites the screen.

January 23, 2006 Comment
Fantastica Daily

Mann captured their performances, but he let their dynamic evaporate, to the extent that while the 1994 film is a good movie, his mistakes stop it from becoming a great movie.

June 10, 2005 Full Review Source: Movie City News | Comment
Movie City News

De Niro delivers a frightening vision of frosty criminal efficiency.

May 4, 2005 Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | Comment
Lessons of Darkness

It is a remarkably powerful, entertaining and invigorating piece of cinema that hits on more levels than seemingly possible.

April 23, 2005 Full Review Source: Cinematic Reflections | Comments (3)
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Heat

The heists and shootout scenes are entertaining, but the story drags itself out for far too long. This film can lull you to sleep as it tries to establish a dark/serious tone (and fails). Also, many story lines go nowhere by the movie's end.

February 8, 2012
Sanjay Rema

Super Reviewer

A platform as old as the movies: cops and robbers, played to the hilt by top notch production and the ever-so-stellar cast. The best of the best at the top of their game ... simply exciting filmmaking.

July 19, 2007
moonrivers

Super Reviewer

    1. Neil McCauley: I told you I'm not going back...
    – Submitted by Stephen C (2 days ago)
    1. Alan Marciano: Why'd I get mixed up with that bitch?
    2. Vincent Hanna: Because she's got a...GREAT ASS!
    – Submitted by Michael C (37 days ago)
    1. Neil McCauley: Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.
    – Submitted by Jitatma C (51 days ago)
    1. Vincent Hanna: Shut up Ralph, sit down!
    – Submitted by sean b (3 months ago)
    1. Vincent Hanna: I say what I mean, and I do what I say.
    – Submitted by Chris P (9 months ago)

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