Everything about Heat Film totally explained
Heat is a
1995 American epic crime drama film written and directed by
Michael Mann. It stars
Al Pacino and
Robert De Niro. The film was released on
December 15,
1995.
De Niro plays a professional robber who is a calm and methodical introvert, while
Pacino plays a veteran
LAPD homicide detective whose devotion to his job causes him to neglect his personal problems. The central conflict of the film was based on the experiences of former Chicago police officer Chuck Adamson and his pursuit of a criminal named McCauley in the 1960s, from which the name of De Niro's character, Neil McCauley, was derived.
Heat marked the first time that Pacino and De Niro appeared together onscreen. Although both actors had already starred in
The Godfather Part II 21 years earlier, they hadn't appeared in any scenes together.
The film is technically a remake of
L.A. Takedown, a
1989 made-for-television film also written and directed by Mann; Mann had been trying to get the film made for over a decade, and created this simplified version after his efforts were unsuccessful.
Heat was a critical and commercial success, grossing over
$185 million worldwide.
Plot summary
Neil McCauley (
Robert De Niro), a career thief and bank robber, leads a team of robbers including longtime friends Chris Shiherlis (
Val Kilmer) and Michael Cheritto (
Tom Sizemore) on an armored car heist, stealing
US$1.6 million in
bearer bonds from Malibu Equity Investments, a shell company that launders off-shore drug accounts. The robbery is botched when new member Waingro (
Kevin Gage) impulsively murders a guard, forcing the team to shoot the remaining guards and escape. McCauley meets with his
fence Nate (
Jon Voight), who suggests selling the bonds back to their original owner, Roger Van Zant (
William Fichtner), who stands to profit from the bond insurance while purchasing them at a reduced price. After regrouping, claiming they want to pay Waingro off so they can be rid of him, an enraged McCauley instead prepares to kill Waingro, but he's interrupted by a passing LAPD patrol car, allowing Waingro to escape. Van Zant agrees to the deal but instructs his men to ambush McCauley at the meeting, angered by being given a reputation as an easy target. McCauley escapes with the aid of Shiherlis and Cheritto, and vows revenge.
Investigating the heist, Lieutenant Vincent Hanna (
Al Pacino) of the elite
LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division begins visiting informants to identify McCauley and his crew, who are already planning an audacious
bank heist with an estimated $12 million payoff that would allow McCauley to finally retire. The investigation and subsequent planning highlight how each man's commitment to their respective professions has severely damaged their personal lives: Hanna's third marriage to wife Justine (
Diane Venora) is in the early stages of a breakdown, threatened by his grueling work schedule and their troubled stepdaughter Lauren (
Natalie Portman). Shiherlis's relationship with his wife Charlene (
Ashley Judd) is hampered by his crippling gambling addiction, pushing her into an extramarital affair. Only McCauley, who lives a lonely, barren existence that forbids attachments and stresses mobility, finds his life renewed from a budding relationship with Eady (
Amy Brenneman), a kind, naive graphic designer who believes him to be a metal salesman.
McCauley realizes he's being surveilled, and counter-investigates Hanna and his Robbery-Homicide squad, primarily to judge if the bank job is worth the risk. Hanna, realizing he's been discovered, deliberately intercepts McCauley and invites him to coffee at a local diner. During their tense meeting, the two professionals examine each other and despite their positive impressions, reveal that if necessary, they won't hesitate to kill each other if the situation demands it. Meanwhile Waingro, previously in hiding following the truck heist, approaches Van Zant and offers to lead him to another member of McCauley's crew, Trejo (
Danny Trejo) who, along with his wife, is tortured into revealing information about McCauley's planned robbery, which Van Zant leaks to the police.
The robbery already in progress, Hanna and his unit, ranks bolstered with uniformed police officers, drive to the bank and inadvertently surprise McCauley and his crew as they leave the bank. A chaotic gunfight breaks out in downtown Los Angeles, the robbers shooting their way past police blockades in an attempt at freedom. The firefight claims the lives of several robbers and police officers before McCauley escapes with a wounded Shiherlis. Realizing Trejo's betrayal, McCauley visits his house where he discovers Trejo near death. In his final moments, Trejo reveals that Waingro and Van Zant are responsible before McCauley euthanizes the dying Trejo, and drives to Van Zant's house where he murders him. Learning about Van Zant's death, Hanna realizes that McCauley will likely seek revenge against Waingro, now hiding in a hotel room under a false name and surveiled by police, and orders his team to spread information about Waingro's location to bait McCauley. Meanwhile, the police move Charlene Shiherlis and her son Dominic to a
safe house where Sgt. Drucker explains that Charlene will be charged as an accessory to her husband's crime and relocate her son to a foster home if she doesn't surrender Chris to the police. Chris appears hours later with an altered appearance to disguise his identity. Despite their marital problems, Charlene surreptitiously warns him about the police presence, the two sharing one last emotional look before Chris returns to his car and inconspicuously departs.
McCauley returns to Eady and breaks his longstanding creed, compelling her to flee with him to New Zealand. As he finalizes his plans, McCauley learns about Waingro's whereabouts. Confident with his escape plan, McCauley impulsively takes the bait and infiltrates the hotel, activating the fire alarm to vacate the rooms and create a disruption for the police. With the hotel security and police distracted, McCauley barges in and kills Waingro before beginning his escape. Moments later, Hanna arrives at the hotel and from a distance observes Eady waiting in McCauley's car. As he approaches, McCauley emerges from the building and noticing Hanna, hesitantly defaults to his "thirty seconds" rule and abandons Eady, disappearing into the crowd with Hanna in pursuit. Following a tense cat-and-mouse chase in the darkness of the
LAX freight terminal, McCauley almost manages to get the drop on Hanna, but Hanna manages to shoot McCauley first, leaving him clinging to life in the fields of the adjoining runways. Knowing he's more in common with McCauley than anyone else in his life, Hanna moves to comfort his would-be killer, to which McCauley extends his hand and Hanna embraces. Together, the two men share a final, quiet moment of reflection and understanding before McCauley dies.
Cast
The film has several similarities with Mann's later work
Collateral. Both storylines are set in Los Angeles, with Heat starting in the
the LA Metro and ending at
LAX airport (this is reversed for Collateral). Both films share a central theme of contrasting the personalities of two main characters, both featuring a lead character named Vincent (as opposed to Heat, in Collateral Vincent is the antagonist). In addition, some of the methods and attributes of the films' criminal lead characters Neil and Vincent are similar, most notably the use of a particular appearance so as not to be memorable. Both Vincent and Neil demonstrate an amount of tactical training through certain shared dialogue phrases about avoidance of casualties in an
engagement and by use of the
Mozambique Drill.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Heat Film'.
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