Ranks with Last of the Mohicians as Michael Mann’s masterpiece (to date), a powerful tale of the pursuit of Robert de Niro by Al Pacino. Like Point Break or Bad Boys II (or Hot Fuzz) there is a tang of homoeroticism about it – will Al and Bobby fall in love with each other so much that they can no longer do their jobs? It’s stunningly directed and extremely well acted, with some knock out action sequences (the opening robbery, the street shoot out, the final death) and an awesome movie score (this was Moby’s first really wide exposure to the punters).
In the DVD commentary Michael Mann describes de Niro’s character as a sociopath; I’d disagree – for all Mann’s research on the criminal world de Niro is very human and likeable: it’s not his fault the robbery goes wrong, he’s clearly superior to crooks like Waingro and Van Zandt, we never see him do anything really bad like the Tom Sizemore character does, he’s loyal to his friends and loves his partner, he’s very smart (only an overpowering desire for revenge stops him from getting away).
I also like how for the first half the film Mann keeps having to find cool things for Pacino to do until he can actually start kicking arse: root his hot (younger wife), bamboozle a witness, click his fingers and look cool. I originally preferred de Niro’s performance to Pacino’s because it was more contained, but now I’m used to Pacino’s and quite enjoy it. Magnificent final moments.
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