De Niro, on the other hand, is just as fun to watch. Sure he milks it to the extreme, but in all fairness Hanna was originally meant to have a cocaine habit and that definitely seeps through on camera. Pacino is the more animated of the two, strutting around in his typical cocky persona with the occasional frantic outburst. This was the first film to finally unite Al Pacino and Robert De Niro on screen together (they were in different timelines in The Godfather: Part II), and having them as opposing dominant forces is pure genius. The casting for Heat is simply phenomenal. Now with the police force hot on his trail, McCauley finds himself thrust into a citywide chess match with Hanna - and neither man plans to be outwitted by his worthy opponent. But as McCauley and his gang plunder the City of Angels and work their way towards the score of a lifetime, their trail is picked up by a skilled detective, Lt. Maintaining a cool head is the key to McCauley's success, and if he even senses a rise in temperature by a mere half a degree, he'll do whatever is necessary to avoid getting burnt. He runs a very tight crew, which always includes his loyal best friend Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer), and he methodically plans out every job with tactical precision.

Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) is a professional thief. This sequence really is a true marvel of modern filmmaking. Not only is the film infused with razor-sharp writing, a stellar cast, and stylish direction, to this very day it still delivers what is widely regarded as the best gunfight in cinematic history. After giving writer/director Michael Mann's Heat a spin again for this Blu-ray review, I stand by my claim that if it isn't the greatest heist genre flick ever made, it easily ranks as one of the most entertaining action movies to come out of the nineties.

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