PLANET GRIFFIN'S Next Top Ten Movies That Move On Paper: Comics Undreamed Of! Pt. 20

PLANET GRIFFIN concludes its Next Top Ten with a bang! As far as the 'Cops and Robbers' genre is concerned, this MICHAEL MANN classic tops it with ease! Without further adieu---

NUMBER 20:

HEAT

In 1995, AL PACINO, ROBERT DENIRO, VAL KILMER, and one of the best supporting casts onscreen gave us 'The Los Angeles Crime Saga' that's actually a REMAKE of a TV Movie known as L.A. HEAT (which writer/director Michael Mann crafted back in 1989)... After hits like THIEF, MIAMI VICE, and CRIME STORY, Mann topped himself with a movie that has so far gone unrivaled in almost 20 years!


Neil McCauley (DeNiro) is a professional thief who, like his high stakes team, lives by the credo 'Never have anything in your life that you can't walk out on in 30 seconds flat, if you spot the heat coming around the corner'... The only man capable of stopping him is Lt. Vincent Hanna (Pacino) of the Major Crimes Unit. Obsessive and driven to the point of ruin, both men are in for the score of a lifetime: McCauley with retirement, Hanna with 'retiring' McCauley permanently.

As well known as this movie is, there's not too much to add to this post that'll be any different from anything else you know--- The central performances of DeNiro and Pacino happen to be their absolute best (individually as well as together) work that has yet to be matched--- as well as anyone else's for that matter--- (Righteous Kill? Don't get me started... Val Kilmer? Low budget flicks perfect for Redbox... Ashley Judd? dropped out of hollywood for a minute... ) Michael Mann has since tried to duplicate this same magic in his other films ( Collateral, Miami Vice, Public Enemies...) ever since, with hit or miss results.

The setpieces of this movie are like rock and roll vignettes without the usual music video feel, the action moments are graceful, yet savage, displays that still inspires to this day ( LA Shootout, anyone?)--- especially the downtown shootout that played up the realism to such a degree, many bystanders around the shootout sequence that day thought the violence was real!

PLANET GRIFFIN definitely considers this flick a PERFECT adaptation for the comic field! Between the gritty, almost caustic, dialogue, to the rich visuals, you've got a complete package from start to finish! With that, this Next Top Ten is a wrap!

Alright--- fun parts done--- back to work.