Talking about Happy Endings, I think Heat is a great movie.
I disapprove of the ending though. It’s not because it is a sad ending, but because it is pointless and predictable.
I think it would have been better if Neil McCauley gets his call from Nate that all is clear, Vincent Hanna sits with his wife at the emergency and then the movie ends.
First of all, the fact that Neil McCauley goes for Waingro is not according to character. Neil has proven to be a very disciplined guy who has a plan and doesn’t get tempted. Like the robbery they just left in the middle of the act.
Then suddenly he decides that Waingro is worth the risk. He has his dreams within reach and he risks it all? No, it doesn’t work for me. Waingro is not that important. Van Zant might have been, but not Waingro. There was a great setup for killing Van Zant, but very little so for Waingro.
Secondly it is the second pay-off of the same setup. The setup is Vincent Hanna and Neil McCauley’s spontaneous heart-to-heart meeting in a diner. Great scene.
They both make statements that they will shoot the other down if it comes to it.
Well, it does come to it, but before the ending. At the bank robbery, they shoot at one another, not caring about the other. No need to prove it again, at the end.
The ending is there only to make sure it is a big climax between Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. A second face-to-face meeting.
Predictable and pointless.
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Image of poster edited by the writer.
2 comments:
Not a big fan of the movie. Thought it was a waste of two great talents but I see your points.
I tend to like movies where police and theif have some form of relationship, where they meet and talk, though it doesn't have to me much.
"The Fugitive" and "3:10 to Yuma" are others in the same category.
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