Jennifer Hodges

I mean I watched it. I sort of wanted to know what would happen. And it was unusual in its overall idea, so that was interesting. But it was hard to suspend disbelief…high schoolers acting like characters out of a 1940’s noir film (a la Dashilell Hammet, who was the director/writers’ overriding influence). I just couldn’t really take it all that seriously. And I couldn’t totally get on board with Joseph Gordon Levitt as a fearless hard guy. I would have loved to have seen these, or similar, characters as proper adults, in a straight forward infiltrate & find the killer, type story (keeping the classic noir influence)…but what the hey, it won on & points for originality!

I thought I’d seen this movie, and then realised I hadn’t, so it was a great treat to watch, as I knew it was quite an iconic movie. It really got me in. I thought Robert De Niro as the criminal mastermind, was perfect. Al Pacino, as always very charismatic, but looked like a little bit of a ham beside Robert De Niro’s understated yet intense performance. Al Pacino’s wife was pretty flat, but Natalie Portman as their daughter/stepdaughter was on point. Was great to see Val Kilmer still in his hay day, or close to it, and his usual intensity was spot on. Also great to see Jon Voight & Danny Trejo, who were both pitch perfect. Everyone else was great, & the story is very classic…good versus evil, but but very nuanced! Actually, I was rooting for Robert De Niro, even though he was a baddie, but I won’t give away what happens. In fact, heat is based on a true story, which makes it even more interesting. I must see for moviephiles 🎥