- Film Review
- Reviewed By Adrian Turner
-
4 out of 5
Directed by Michael Mann, this crime thriller about a cop (Al Pacino) and a robber (Robert De Niro) is epic in both scale and length, clocking in at just under three hours. Though punctuated by bursts of virtuoso action, including a running battle in downtown LA that ranks as one of the best action scenes ever filmed, it is the unusual emphasis on character that impresses most. De Niro is in fine form as the calm, methodical loner whose life is arranged so that he can abandon everything in 30 seconds when the heat is on, including his sidekick, Val Kilmer. Pacino, by contrast, is more of a cliché, angst-ridden and on his third marriage. We've seen it before and catch Pacino acting all the time, especially in his set-piece meeting with De Niro. It's also a pity that after so much brilliance Mann should succumb to a derivative ending - an airport chase, à la The Killing and Bullitt, and a tidy if bloody resolution in which the wrong man gets killed.
Plot Summary
Crime thriller starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. Detective Vincent Hanna is closing in on notorious professional thief Neil McCauley. But even though he realises that the police are watching his every move, McCauley decides to go ahead with one final heist before leaving the US for a new life.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Vincent Hanna
- Al Pacino
- Neil McCauley
- Robert De Niro
- Chris Shiherlis
- Val Kilmer
- Nate
- Jon Voight
- Michael Cheritto
- Tom Sizemore
- Justine
- Diane Venora
- Eady
- Amy Brenneman
- Charlene
- Ashley Judd
- Drucker
- Mykelti Williamson
- Casals
- Wes Studi
- Lauren
- Natalie Portman
- Bosko
- Ted Levine
- Donald Breedan
- Dennis Haysbert
- Roger Van Zant
- William Fichtner
- Kelso
- Tom Noonan
- Waingro
- Kevin Gage
- Alan Marciano
- Hank Azaria
- Trejo
- Danny Trejo
- Hugh Benny
- Henry Rollins
- Richard Toreno
- Tone Loc
- Dr Bob
- Jeremy Piven
- Ralph
- Xander Berkeley
- Solenko. restaurant manager
- Bud Cort
Crew
- Director
- Michael Mann
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