HEAT

"HEAT"
(1995) (Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Val Kilmer) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Moderate	Heavy	Heavy	Heavy	Extreme

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	None	Moderate	None	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Mild	Mild	Heavy	Mild	Extreme

QUICK TAKE:: A determined cop hunts down an equally determined professional thief and his team.

PLOT:: Vincent Hanna (AL PACINO) is a detective who is so obsessed with his work that he’s been divorced several times and his current wife, Justine (DIANE VENDRA), feels that he has no time or need for her. Neil McCauley (ROBERT DeNIRO) is a career criminal who’s also so consumed by his profession that his motto is “Have nothing in your life that you can't walk out on in thirty seconds if you spot the heat around the corner." Vincent becomes the heat as Neil and his men, including gambler Chris Shiherlis (VAL KILMER) knock off an armored truck to steal $1.6 million worth of bonds owned by an investor. Van Zant (William Fichtner) , that investor, then puts out a contract on Neil and his men. He gets assistance from Waingro (KEVIN GAGE), a lowly type and brief crew member of Neil's who raised the stakes by shooting the armored truck guards. From that point on, Vincent must find Neil who is planning more heists as well as striking back at Van Zant and Waingro.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Older teens might, but younger kids won’t. Pacino and DeNiro are incredible actors, but they’re not box office or kids proven draws.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For violence and language.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: AL PACINO plays a cop so consumed with catching the bad guys that he has no time or energy left for his wife. He heavily uses profanity and often could be charged with police brutality (based on his physical interaction and intimidation of various people).
ROBERT DENIRO plays a career criminal and murderer who (not including his violent actions) isn’t portrayed as such a bad guy. (ie. which sends the wrong message to kids -- although in the end retribution is paid back)
VAL KILMER plays a career criminal who is also a compulsive gambler.; ROBERT DENIRO plays a career criminal and murderer who (not including his violent actions) isn’t portrayed as such a bad guy. (ie. which sends the wrong message to kids -- although in the end retribution is paid back)
VAL KILMER plays a career criminal who is also a compulsive gambler.; VAL KILMER plays a career criminal who is also a compulsive gambler.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

OUR TAKE: 8 out of 10: This is a very slick, stylish production starring several of the best actors alive today. Pacino and DeNiro are a blast to watch and unfortunately aren’t together on screen for more than just two scenes. The scene of the two of them in a cafe is absolutely terrific. Otherwise, the other performances are also good all around, but the movie’s a bit too long and probably could have been edited down just a bit (It’s almost three hours long). Even so, we enjoyed the production and suspect that other adults who can tolerate all of the “bad stuff” and like the "cops and robbers" genre will enjoy this one. We give it an 8 out of 10.

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:: This is a film for mature audiences only. There’s tons of profanity and equal amounts of violence and some murders. There isn’t much sex, but there is an attempted suicide (we see the results), that could be disturbing to kids. If your older kids are mature enough to handle the subject matter and individual scenes, this may be an okay film for them. As always, read through all of the category listings before making your individual decision.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: Vincent drinks whiskey when he comes home from work.
Neil and his new girlfriend Eady have drinks.
People are seen drinking in a club.
Vincent has a drink inside the same club.
Neil's crew drinks wine with dinner.
Waingro is seen drinking.
During a fight, Justine tells Vincent, "I may be stoned on grass and prozac..."

BLOOD/ GORE: Several of the guards are bloodied as they're shot (see "Violence") and later are seen dead lying in pools of their own blood.
Vincent is shown a photo of a dead prostitute (her body hanging from a dumpster) and moments later he looks at her body and her face is all bloodied and bruised.
A bank manager has a bloody lip after having just been punched by Neil.
During the massive machine gun street battle, many people are hit by bullets and some are quite bloody as a result.
Neil finds one of his crew members on the floor, severely wounded and very bloody.
Vincent comes home and finds his step daughter in the bathtub after she’s tried to commit suicide. The water is a deep red color and the cuts on her wrists can be seen.
Waingro bleeds after having been hit in the head by Neil and then blood squirts out as he's shot.
Blood squirts out from Neil as he’s shot and moments later his shirt is soaked in his own blood.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Obviously all of the bad guys have both as they not only are thieves but murderers as well.
A restaurant manager has a bad attitude toward an ex-con and now new employee. He treats him poorly and tells the new employee that he has to pay twenty percent of his wages back to him.
Neil spots and confronts Chris' wife for being in a motel room with another man.
Vincent often intimidates people he's confronting by physical and verbal abuse.
One of the crew members grabs up a little girl as armor during the big street gun battle.
Vincent comes home to find Justine there with another man. She states that she had to demean herself with another man to get closure with Vincent.
Eady decides to stay with Neil even after she finds out who he is and what he does.

FRIGHTENING/TENSE SCENES: Many of the scenes listed under "Violence" are very tense.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Handguns/Machine guns/Shot guns: All used by both the cops and the bad guys throughout the movie. For details see "Violence."

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Neil sets off a fire alarm in a hotel to divert attention from him hunting down Waingro.
Though not seen, Vincent talks about a case where a junkie fries his baby in the microwave because it wouldn't stop crying. While most kids (hopefully) wouldn't go to that extreme, they may place other live creatures (or other objects) into the microwave to see what happens -- but again, this action is not seen in the movie.

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): Several of the violent and tense scenes are accompanied by moderately tense music, in particular when Neil goes to the hotel to hunt down Waingro and during the final scene where Neil and Vincent hunt each other at the airport.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: 55 "f" words (1 used sexually, and 11 have the prefix "mother"), 22 "s" words, 10 "ass" words, 5 hells, 2 SOB's, 1 damn, 1 crap and 4 uses of "God damn," and 1 use each of "Jesus," "God," and "Oh my God" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: Vincent and his wife passionately kiss in bed with him on top of her (but no nudity or sexual movements are observed).
Chris tells his wife (as they prepare to go out for the evening), "I could jump you right here."
It's implied that Neil and Eady had sex (nothing seen but him getting out of bed later).
It's implied that Chris' wife had an affair with another man at a hotel.
Vincent comes home and finds that his wife has had an affair with another man. Vincent tells him "You can ball my wife if she wants you to...but you can’t watch my TV."
It's implied that Waingro and a prostitute had sex (nothing's seen).

SMOKING: Justine is seen smoking a few times.
Chris smokes.
A man in Van Zant's office smokes.
People are seen smoking in a club.
Waingro is seen smoking.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Vincent and his wife are having marital problems and they persist throughout the movie and come to a head as she has an affair with another man "to get closure" from Vincent.
There are several scenes involving Vincent's stepdaughter as she prepares and/or waits to meet with her real father. The man never shows up and the daughter is very upset every time and eventually attempts suicide because of that.
Chris and his wife fight over his gambling addiction and general way of life.
Vincent must comfort the distraught mother of a dead prostitute who arrives at the crime scene.
Vincent must comfort Justine at the emergency room after her daughter’s attempted suicide.
Vincent and Justine break up realizing that neither is what the other needs nor wants.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: How crime doesn't pay.
Suicide.

VIOLENCE: Neil's crew uses a semi to ram an armored truck and knock it on its side. Several other cars are damaged by the impact. The crew hops out with machine guns drawn and then set an explosive on the armored truck's door and blow it off. Several guards are bloodied by the explosion and are yanked outside by the crew who then go inside to search the truck. Once the robbery is finished, one of the crew members gets edgy and shoots one of the guards. Another guard reaches for his gun and is shot dead. The final guard is then shot so as to leave no witnesses. The crew flees and several oncoming police cars have their tires blown out by a tire puncturing chain and crash into each other. The crew then blows up their getaway vehicle.
Neil smashes Waingro's head onto a table where they're eating (for killing the guards). He then punches him in the stomach and yanks his head back. The crew then takes him out into the parking lot, beat him up and then prepare to kill him. He escapes, however, when their attention is diverted by a passing police car.
After his wife has just complained about his gambling lifestyle, Chris storms out of the house, knocking things over and breaking them on his way out.
Van Zant, upon hearing that Neil's crew were the ones who stole his bonds, states, "I'm gonna kill those sons of bitches."
Vincent, in several scenes, physically abuses several people he's interrogating (pushing them around, etc...).
Neil goes to an abandoned drive-in movie theater to exchange the stolen bonds for money from Van Zant's people. It turns out to be a setup as one of Van Zant's men sneaks out of their truck and up to Neil's car and prepares to shoot him. Neil spots him, backs up and then runs the man over. Chris, acting as a sharp shooter, fires at the truck. Neil shoots at the man through his windshield who shoots back with a machine gun until Chris downs the man with a shot. Neil then runs him over. Chris continues shooting at the truck and then another crew member comes around the corner and shoots the driver dead.
Waingro tells a prostitute that she's having a visit from the "grim reaper," and when she starts to back away, he grabs her. Later she's found dead, so he is the one who kills her. It's later said that he "beat her head in."
Though not seen, Vincent tells his wife about cases where a junkie fries his baby in the microwave because it wouldn't stop crying.
The restaurant employee quits, joining Neil’s crew, and pushes his old boss to the floor.
During a bank robbery Chris punches a guard and then whacks him on the head. Other guards are pushed to the floor as Neil’s crew displays machine guns to keep everyone under control. Neil punches the bank manager in the face after he acts like he doesn't have the key to the vault. On their way out, Chris spots the approaching police and opens fire on them with his machine gun. For the next several minutes there is a massive gun battle between Neil and his crew and Vincent and the other police. Windshields are shattered and cars riddled with bullets. The restaurant worker/crew driver is hit and killed. Eight police officers, one civilian and Chris are all hit by bullets.
A crew member, holding a little girl as his armor is shot in the head and killed by Vincent.
Neil finds one of his crew members on the floor, severely wounded and very bloody. Once he finds out who was responsible, Neil shoots the member to put him out of his misery.
Vincent and his men shoot through a door, kick it open and rush inside to find one of Van Zant’s men. They hit the man and Vincent shoves him back through a full wall window.
Neil throws a chair through Van Zant’s window, rushes in, and after finding out where Waingro is, shoots Van Zant dead.
Vincent rips his TV out of the living room after he comes home and finds his wife there with another man.
Vincent, upset over his wife’s actions, drives like a madman down the road. At a stop light, he opens the door and kicks his TV out onto the street.
Vincent comes home and finds his stepdaughter in the bathtub, her wrists slit from an attempted suicide.
Neil kicks open Waingro’s hotel door, hits him on the head with a gun, pushes him back onto a sofa and then shoots him in the chest and then the head.
Neil hits a cop in the gut and then over the head twice as he leaves the hotel.
Vincent hunts down Neil out on an airport runway at night. They exchange gunfire at each other and then play cat and mouse. Vincent eventually spots and shoots Neil.

Reviewed July 27, 1996

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