Heat (1995)

One of the benefits of a sick day is the opportunity to watch some movies.  I had heard this one was a top 10 of a friend, and I had never seen it.  Thankfully I had the Netflix version on DVD right there.

This is a cat and mouse story about a cop Vincent  (Al Pacino) and a robber Neil (Robert DeNiro).  Reminiscent of Catch Me If You Can, Vincent become more and more infatuated with his prey as he just misses time after time.  All setting up for the final showdown, mano a mano.

What might make it great:  lots of realistic action, especially the gunplay.  Michael Mann has a knack for the first-person shooter angle and that is well displayed.  Unlike the Bond movies, the good guys do get shot by the bad guys.  Also, the story angle of having a woman as a weakness - it's written in various degrees through every main character.  That's an interesting angle as well.  And putting De Niro and Pacino together for the first time since Godfather Part II - that's something.

In the end, good, yes.  Great, no.

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