Critics Scoreboard
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Average Critic Score:
76
(22 sources)
76
(22 sources)
-
100
Variety
Stunningly made and incisively acted by a large and terrific cast, Michael Mann's ambitious study of the relativity of good and evil stands apart from other films of its type by virtue of its extraordinarily rich characterizations and its thoughtful, deeply melancholy take on modern life. Read Full Review » -
100
Austin Chronicle
One of the most intelligent crime-thrillers to come along in years. Read Full Review » -
100
Los Angeles Times
A sleek, accomplished piece of work, meticulously controlled and completely involving. The dark end of the street doesn't get much more inviting than this. Read Full Review » -
100
USA Today
Heat is in the cop-movie pantheon with Akira Kurosawa's "High and Low," and that's as "right" as the genre gets. Read Full Review » -
90
Newsweek
A stunning crime drama that shares its protagonists' rabid attention to detail—and love of adrenalin. Read Full Review » -
90
Washington Post
As with his other works, [Mann] binds sound, music and pictures into one hypnotic triaxial cable and plugs it right into your brain. He makes this almost-three-hour experience practically glide by. Read Full Review » -
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
No, the film may not be quite as luminous as the cast, but it's good - very good, in fact. Read Full Review » -
88
Chicago Sun-Times
Above all, the dialogue is complex enough to allow the characters to say what they're thinking: They are eloquent, insightful, fanciful, poetic when necessary. They're not trapped with cliches. Read Full Review » -
88
Chicago Tribune
A love-hate poem to L.A., and when Mann takes in the streets, the freeways and LAX, he doesn't give us shiny "Lethal Weapon"-style travelogues. He shows us an L.A. that's grim, bare, a bit smoggy and ruled by street smarts. [15 Dec 1995] Read Full Review » -
80
TV Guide
It didn't sound like fun to us, either, but we were wrong; Heat scores on many fronts...The plot, though it seems to ramble, builds suspense with deft precision, and the action set pieces are triumphs. Read Full Review » -
80
Time
A lot of very good actors...do honest, probing work in a context where, typically, less will do. Read Full Review » -
80
Chicago Reader
There's nothing really new...but it has craft, pacing, and an overall sense of proportion, three pretty rare classic virtues nowadays. Read Full Review » -
75
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70
Film.com
Someone should confiscate Mann's synthesizer. Just when a scene starts rolling along, this synth beat fades in and destroys the mood. Read Full Review » -
67
Entertainment Weekly
We're not watching McCauley and Hanna anymore; we're watching De Niro and Pacino trying to out-insinuate each other. For a few moments, Heat truly has some. Read Full Review » -
60
Film.com
A cool and rather detached movie...Heat generates lots of energy but gives off little light. Read Full Review » -
60
Washington Post
Ultimately, though, the movie never transcends the limitations of its Hemingwayesque, men-with-men attitudes. Read Full Review » -
50
ReelViews
I lost track of how many times I checked my watch during the nearly three interminable hours it took Heat to play itself to a predictable conclusion of a chase scene and a shoot-out. Read Full Review » -
50
Christian Science Monitor
The performances are persuasive but the plot rattles on much too long. Read Full Review » -
50
The New York Times
Its sensational looks pale beside storytelling weaknesses that expose the more soulless aspects of this cat-and-mouse crime tale. [15 Dec 1995] Read Full Review » -
50
San Francisco Examiner
There isn't much to recommend this movie until Pacino and De Niro finally share the first of their two scenes together. Read Full Review » -
30
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