Patrick McLaren leads a crew of professional thieves whose latest job is an armoured car robbery in Los Angeles. All goes according to plan until a recent recruit to his team shoots and kills one of the three guards. In the chaos that follows another guard fights back and knocks the mask of one of the gang before he is shot and killed; not wanting to leave anybody who can identify them the thieves kill the final guard. Afterwards the man responsible is kicked off the team and told to stay away from them.
As soon a news breaks about the raid LAPD Sgt Vincent Hanna sets about trying to identify the team; eventually they get a lead and start tracking McLaren and his crew. They later realise they have been identified but decide to continue with their planned 'one last big job'. Before the job goes down Hanna confronts McLaren over a cup of coffee; it is clear that neither man intends to back down.
This TV movie is famous as the 'film that was remade as 'Heat''; I won't be comparing them though as it is quite a while since I saw that film. This film is a lot better than might expect from a TV movie; the only real hints that this wasn't made for the cinema is the lack of swearing and a lower level of gore when characters are shot... something I'm sure many viewers will see as a plus. There is plenty of impressive action but really this is about the characters; specifically about Hanna and McLaren. Scott Plank and Alex McArthur impress in these roles. The supporting cast is pretty solid too. As one would expect from director Michael Mann there is lots of style and a great atmosphere. Overall I'd certainly recommend this film for fans of the genre; don't be put off by its 'TV movie' status.
As soon a news breaks about the raid LAPD Sgt Vincent Hanna sets about trying to identify the team; eventually they get a lead and start tracking McLaren and his crew. They later realise they have been identified but decide to continue with their planned 'one last big job'. Before the job goes down Hanna confronts McLaren over a cup of coffee; it is clear that neither man intends to back down.
This TV movie is famous as the 'film that was remade as 'Heat''; I won't be comparing them though as it is quite a while since I saw that film. This film is a lot better than might expect from a TV movie; the only real hints that this wasn't made for the cinema is the lack of swearing and a lower level of gore when characters are shot... something I'm sure many viewers will see as a plus. There is plenty of impressive action but really this is about the characters; specifically about Hanna and McLaren. Scott Plank and Alex McArthur impress in these roles. The supporting cast is pretty solid too. As one would expect from director Michael Mann there is lots of style and a great atmosphere. Overall I'd certainly recommend this film for fans of the genre; don't be put off by its 'TV movie' status.