31 Years Later, the Greatest Crime Thriller of All Time is Climbing the Streaming Charts

There isn’t another cinematic artist who understands criminal behavior quite like Michael Mann, the brilliant writer/director whose moody, atmospheric thrillers are among the most influential of the past 50 years. Although Mann established himself as someone who understood the minutiae of policing and procedures with his work on the small screen with Miami Vice among other shows, he developed into a successful cinematic director capable of making surprisingly thoughtful, existential character dramas that still had genre components. The ‘90s saw Mann delivering success after success, proving that he was worthy of being granted more resources, and he felt that it was time to revisit L.A. Takedown, a failed television pilot that he had directed in 1989. Mann reworked a true story of an obsessive police officer’s feud with a ruthless career criminal into an epic ensemble drama that showed the best of what the crime genre could be. Heat was the film that solidified Mann as an all-time filmmaking genius, and it has withstood the test of time as one of the most influential crime thrillers ever —a status it proves yet again as, decades after its release, it is climbing the streaming charts at Pluto TV.

Despite the heavy amount of research that Mann put into nailing the culture of Los Angeles and developing a realistic look at both sides of the law, Heat has a deceptively simple story that revolves around fate and duality. Al Pacino stars as the grizzled, drug-addicted LAPD Robbery Homicide Lieutenant Vincent Hanna, and Robert De Niro co-stars as the serial bank robber Neil McCauley. Although Pacino and De Niro had both appeared in The Godfather: Part II, they had never shared the screen with one another, and there was a tremendous amount of hype to see the two greatest actors of their generation going head-to-head. Heat never would have worked with different stars in these roles, as the film relies upon Vincent and Neil to be equally compelling. They end up having surprisingly similar motivations, suggesting that the line between cop and criminal is far more fungible than is commonly believed.

‘Heat’ Is the Perfect Cat-And-Mouse Thriller

Heat is a visceral film where the 170 minute running time flies by because there is constant movement on both sides. Vincent is not only trying to ensure that he has a tight inner circle that isn’t compromised by a double agent, but is struggling in his marriage to Justine (Diane Venora), and a stepdaughter, Lauren (Natalie Portman), who has never connected with him. Although Neil has prided himself on having no barriers that would disrupt his work, he is tempted by the possibility of a more normal life when he begins to fall for the graphic designer Eady (Amy Brenneman), who shares many of his philosophies. There is equal agitation from both characters because Vincent knows he only has a short window of time in which he can track down the crew before they disappear forever, and Neil has a specific robbery opportunity that has to be carried out quickly. These characters haunt one another's’ lives like ghosts, making it all the more exhilarating when they finally become aware of each other.

Seeing De Niro and Pacino embrace more mature, troubled characters as they reached middle-age made Heat the perfect spiritual sequel to all the great work they did within the crime classics of the “New Hollywood” era. But the film also has one of the greatest ensemble casts of all-time, as every character is played by an actor of note. Val Kilmer is incredible as Chris Shiherlis, a troubled but brilliant gunman who is of great value to Neil, who almost views him as a surrogate son; on the flipside is Neil’s steely fence, Nate (Jon Voight), who makes sure that the operation is completely impersonal, even if he does offer him insights upon the traitors within his midst.

‘Heat’ Is Michael Mann’s Magnum Opus

Mann populates Heat with memorable side characters, and the film feels grounded within a realistic mythology that represents the various seedy players involved in a complex scheme at the heart of Los Angeles. Tom Noonan, a brilliant character actor who had worked with Mann previously, has one amazing scene as Kelso, the information specialist whose computer hacking skills predated contemporary cybercrime. Tom Sizemore also has a memorable role as Neil’s most unpredictable ally, Michael Cheritto, whose quote “the action is the juice” is among the film’s most iconic. However, the greatest scene-stealer in Heat is Kevin Gage as Waingro, the duplicitous criminal who makes the destructive choice to double-cross Neil. The confrontation between these two men makes for an exciting beginning to Heat’s third act, which gets even knottier when Vincent is finally offered the chance to take down Neil.

Heat has some of the most visceral action scenes ever shot, as it captured the chaos and noise of a public shootout in a way that subverted the conventions of crime dramas. While it's arguably Mann’s most technically accomplished film to date, Heat is a masterpiece because of its dialogue, with the iconic diner confrontation between Vincent and Neil being a highlight for both Pacino and De Niro in their respective careers. It’s such an emotionally enveloping film with so many moving parts that it becomes all the more profound when Mann pulls back to question what it was worth, and why these men are attracted to such a dangerous lifestyle. Although there is a heavy amount of excitement for the long-anticipated follow-up, Heat is a classic that may never be surpassed.