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Heat
Warner Bros.


8.2

based on 22 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 42 votes
Read user comments
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FILM:

Internet Movie Database

MPAA RATING: R for violence and language

Starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora, Amy Brenneman, and Ashley Judd

A riveting story about an intense rivalry between expert thief Neil McCauley (De Niro) and volatile cop Vincent Hanna (Pacino).

GENRE(S):	Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	Michael Mann
DIRECTED BY:	Michael Mann
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: July 27, 1999 Video: November 6, 2001 Theatrical: December 15, 1995
RUNNING TIME:	171 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Variety Todd McCarthy

Stunningly made and incisively acted by a large and terrific cast, Michael Mann's ambitious study of the relativity of good and evil stands apart from other films of its type by virtue of its extraordinarily rich characterizations and its thoughtful, deeply melancholy take on modern life.

100

Austin Chronicle Simon Cote

One of the most intelligent crime-thrillers to come along in years.

100

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

A sleek, accomplished piece of work, meticulously controlled and completely involving. The dark end of the street doesn't get much more inviting than this.

100

USA Today Mike Clark

Heat is in the cop-movie pantheon with Akira Kurosawa's "High and Low," and that's as "right" as the genre gets.

Newsweek David Ansen

A stunning crime drama that shares its protagonists' rabid attention to detail—and love of adrenalin.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

As with his other works, [Mann] binds sound, music and pictures into one hypnotic triaxial cable and plugs it right into your brain. He makes this almost-three-hour experience practically glide by.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

No, the film may not be quite as luminous as the cast, but it's good - very good, in fact.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Above all, the dialogue is complex enough to allow the characters to say what they're thinking: They are eloquent, insightful, fanciful, poetic when necessary. They're not trapped with cliches.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

A love-hate poem to L.A., and when Mann takes in the streets, the freeways and LAX, he doesn't give us shiny "Lethal Weapon"-style travelogues. He shows us an L.A. that's grim, bare, a bit smoggy and ruled by street smarts. [15 Dec 1995]

TV Guide Staff (Not Credited)

It didn't sound like fun to us, either, but we were wrong; Heat scores on many fronts...The plot, though it seems to ramble, builds suspense with deft precision, and the action set pieces are triumphs.

Time Richard Schickel

A lot of very good actors...do honest, probing work in a context where, typically, less will do.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

There's nothing really new...but it has craft, pacing, and an overall sense of proportion, three pretty rare classic virtues nowadays.

San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann

It's a monster of a movie, and it gets unwieldy.

Film.com Andy Speltzer

Someone should confiscate Mann's synthesizer. Just when a scene starts rolling along, this synth beat fades in and destroys the mood.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

We're not watching McCauley and Hanna anymore; we're watching De Niro and Pacino trying to out-insinuate each other. For a few moments, Heat truly has some.

Film.com Sean Means

A cool and rather detached movie...Heat generates lots of energy but gives off little light.

Washington Post Hal Hinson

Ultimately, though, the movie never transcends the limitations of its Hemingwayesque, men-with-men attitudes.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

I lost track of how many times I checked my watch during the nearly three interminable hours it took Heat to play itself to a predictable conclusion of a chase scene and a shoot-out.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The performances are persuasive but the plot rattles on much too long.

The New York Times Elvis Mitchell

Its sensational looks pale beside storytelling weaknesses that expose the more soulless aspects of this cat-and-mouse crime tale. [15 Dec 1995]

San Francisco Examiner Barbara Shulgasser

There isn't much to recommend this movie until Pacino and De Niro finally share the first of their two scenes together.

Salon.com Andrew Ross

A 3 hour fusillade of cliches.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 42 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

[Anonymous] gave it a2:
Boring and overrated.

Lev S. gave it a10:
For those who gave this movie a zero, watch it again. Every time I watch it I discover something new. It is rich with details that are lost on the first viewing. Watch it again and again and you will get a sense of the characters' lives outside the film and of the world in which they live. It is remarkable how Mann can craft a sincere backstory for a character with just a couple of shots. And you can't go past Pacino's performance. This is where he hit his peak.

Jake gave it a10:
A very, very good action movie. The gunfights are the best I've ever seen. The two best actors of their generation De Niro and Pacino really show their impressive abilities in this film.

ND L. gave it a10:
Excellent film. Absolutely one of my faves. Great plot, fantastic performances from all the cast. Turn up the 5.1 surround for the bank robbery and you are in for a treat.

JC A. gave it a1:
People say that Al Pacino is the best actor of all time, well I think not. In the beginning he started singing "he'll put a note on the door." What is this, American Idol. And so quiet and loud at the same time. Oh, and by the way, I didn't feel the heat coming around the corner.

Joyce C. gave it a0:
It starts off nice, but it never seems to end, I couldn't stand any longer after 1 hour and 40 minutes. It is pointless and tiresome.

JC A. gave it a0:
Poorly handled, it takes a one hour brake, and then carries back onto excitement. Heat means nothing but the sweat of anxiously waiting for it to end.

Heat Warner Bros.

Heat
Warner Bros.