Michael Mann is far and away one of my favorite directors. I think his film the insider is brilliantly done, and up until now i had not seen one of his biggest films: Heat.
The movie has a ridiculously good cast, the main attractions being Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. But the supporting cast is just as good. Jon Voight, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Dennis Haysbert, all give top notch performances in this tense, crime thriller.
The movie is a bit long, at 171 minutes, but i think its length adds to the character of the film. The cat and mouse game that ensues between Pacino's Jack Hanna and De Niro's Neil McCauley escalates up until the very last second, in a scene that is deftly filmed on the runway of LAX. Pacino isn't perfect as the "cop with family troubles", but in every scene he shares with DeNiro, which are very few, he excels.
The best part of the film is the robbery scene. A gunfight spills out into the the streets of downtown LA, as McCauley and his crew try to shoot their way out. The entire shootout feels realistic, and the way Mann films it makes you feel as if you are right in the action. The entire film was shot at over 60 different locations, and not one sound stage was used. Due to this, the film feels ultra-realistic, and is as much of a story of city of Los Angeles, as it is a duel between a cop and a bank robber.
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