Tom Sizemore
Review
Heat - A Review
The city of Los Angeles is the centerpiece of this epic action drama of an
L.A. Detective Unit, headed by Vincent Hanna (played by Al Pacino),
investigating a group of professional bank robbers, most specifically leader
Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro). The film breaks away from its usual "action
cliches" and shows us the personal lives of these men, and how their normal
lives are ruined by their chosen careers. This brings up a deep level of
respect between Hanna and McCauley.
The cast is spectacular, especially De Niro, who brings a certain lonliness to
his character despite being the leader of this small group. Tom Sizemore gives
a silent but demanding performance as Michael Cheritto, a member of Neil's
crew who stays loyal to him, and unlike his partners, he works with them just
for the joy of it. Unlike his partner Chris (Val Kilmer in the film's weakest
performance), Michael has a good relationship with his family, but he'd rather
work with his friends and partners, and Pacino gives an intensifying
performance as Hanna, but is constantly upstaged by De Niro. Ashley Judd
stands out as the battered wife of Val Kilmer and Jon Voight is sinister as
always as Nate, the contact man for McCauley.
The film, nearly 3 hours long,
begins to lose its luster after the explosive shootout scene on the streets of
L.A, as the last hour is spent on Hanna's desperate search for Neil, the only
one who got away from the shootout without a scratch. However, the film's
conclusion, where Hanna chases McCauley to an airport hanger, shows us how
much the two, despite taking opposite career paths, respected each other. As
Hanna grips the dying McCauley's hand, it marks the promise they had both made
to each other that one would take the other down, and they realize how much
they were like each other, despite being on opposite sides of the law.
Many thanks to Scagnetti's U.S. representative Scott Perry for this review!
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