The Pacino character in the movie is based on a Chicago detective named Adamson who became a TV producer and was a friend of Mann's. Mann spent over a decade trying to get this film made. The irony for me is that Heat has more basis in historical fact than a lot of movies that claim to be based on actual history.
The scene in the minerals repository is really interesting, and really illustrates all the characters in about 5 minutes. When the cop with the machine gun bangs it against the wall of the truck, all the characters go into crisis mode. Deniro's character instantly recognizes what is happening and moves to shut the whole thing down. Thompson's character obeys without question, and Kilmer starts arguing but ultimately makes the smart move. Pacino's sidekicks start problem solving, figuring out, ultimately reaching the same conclusion that Pacino had reached, they have to let them go. For some reason, I love that scene.
The most interesting aspect of this movie is the complexity of even the minor characters. No one is two dimensional in this movie, and understanding all the motivations makes it much more interesting and adds to the suspense of key scenes, because the outcome is very uncertain.
One of my only complaints about the movie is Brenneman's character Eady, who is McCauley's girlfriend. I think Brenneman is a terrible actress, and her character comes across as mousy and weak. I find myself wishing she would just get off the screen. It doesn't seem credible that McCauley would feel any conflict at all about her, because a guy like him would never give her 2 seconds of his time in the first place. This in contrast to Pacino's wife Justine, who is a really interesting character, and a credible partner to Hanna. The actress, Venora, is much better than Brenneman, and the relationship is much more realistic.
