by Michael Mann + Meg Gardiner
Published in 2022 by Michael Mann Books aka William Morrow aka HarperCollins aka Rupert Murdoch.
. . .
"Rumors you hear about Ciudad del Este-consider 'em all half true. Whatever you want, whatever you need, people here will find a way to get it for you. If . . ." He rubs his fingers together. "Capitalism uber alles."
. . .
Review by William D. Tucker.
Heat 2 is a sequel/prequel to the 1995 movie Heat written by the movie's writer/director Michael Mann in collaboration with the respected novelist Meg Gardiner. Heat 2 is not a movie-as of this writing-but is, in fact, a book with words you can read if you are so inclined. It tells a story that picks up right after the ending of the 1995 movie, and then it goes back in time to what happened before the events of the movie, and then it goes forwards past the movie, and then it goes back, and then forwards-Heat 2 goes backwards and forwards in time. It jumps around, as your parents might say after watching Pulp Fiction.
So, in order to get the full value of Heat 2 you have to have seen the movie Heat. And if you haven't seen the movie, well, there's a concise prolog that serves as a "Previously on Heat-"
-BTW try saying out loud "Previously on Heat," it's good for a laugh-
-so, I guess Heat 2 technically functions as a stand alone read . . . but not really. Of course, I cannot assess this objectively, because I've seen Heat numerous times over the years. My widescreen double cassette VHS copy was a prized possession of my adolescence, and my 2005 two disc DVD edition has seen much play over the years. If I were into numerology-two tapes, two discs, Heat 2-my head would be kinda fucked'n'sputtering right about now. In my opinion, Heat 2 is marketed towards the fans, and we're probably the ones who'll get the most value out of this spinoff novel.
If you have never seen Heat, it is a hard-boiled crime thriller about a supercop on the hunt for a supercrook. The supercop and the supercrook-a professional thief-develop an unexpected rapport and mutual respect even as they escalate their war-in-the-streets. Basically, they are the ultimate frenemies. The supercrook tells the supercop that he will never return to prison, even if that means blasting the supercop. The supercop tells the supercrook that he, too, is not going to give up, even if that means he has to kill someone he sorta respects. It's all very fraught. The supercop is played by Al Pacino. Robert De Niro played the supercrook. The scene where these two connect over coffee has probably launched a fair few Honors Thesis statements about the nature of masculinity and friendship, or so I assume. Heat also features a large supporting cast of cops'n'robbers, all played by top notch actors. Among them is another supercrook memorably portrayed by Val Kilmer. Heat 2 primarily revolves around these three: Pacino, De Niro, and Kilmer-the same three actors marketed as the stars of the original film.
Now, these characters do have names: the supercop is named Vincent Hanna; De Niro's supercrook is named Neil McCauley; and Kilmer's supercrook is named Chris Shiherlis. However, even the marketing copy on the dust jacket mentions the actors' names, so we are clearly supposed to visualize the people from the 1995 movie even as we read the book. Of course, you could imagine different people in these roles. Bruce Vilanch could be interesting casting for Hanna. Or maybe even G.Gordon Liddy. Did you know Liddy had a career as a film actor? As for McCauley, either YouTube's Rich Evans or Shaq would work for me. I could see Report of the Week-another YouTuber-as a fitting replacement for Kilmer. But those are just my picks. Feel free to come up with your own casting choices!
Heat 2 offers a lot of 'Extended Universe' content, if you will, including flashbacks to both Hanna's and McCauley's experiences with the madness of war in Vietnam; Hanna's cocaine and Adderall habits; McCauley's attempts at maintaining a family; and, most significantly, Hanna and McCauley's parallel histories of making moves on the streets of Chicago. But my favorite passages concerned Shiherlis, especially his endeavors in the Paraguayan Free Trade Zone of Ciudad Del Este, in which Mann and Gardiner rework material from the 2006 movie version of Miami Vice. Shiherlis's evolution into a kind of anarcho-capitalist mafia's field commander has the feel of a Grand Theft Auto avatar evolving into a criminal iteration of a 4x strategy gamer. It's undercooked, but the ideas are there. It's also weirdly hilarious. There's even a needle drop of Tupac's "California Love" as Shiherlis guns his motorcycle through the traffic of the Paraguayan tri-border Free Trade Zone.
I was less taken with what Heat 2 does with Hanna and McCauley. Much of the novel revolves around their conflicts with a character who is original to Heat 2: a scuzzbag named Otis. Otis did not work for me. I was not convinced that a character as single mindedly violent and reckless as Otis would achieve the station that he eventually occupies in Heat 2. Moreover, what was fascinating about Heat was the moral confusion experienced by Hanna and McCauley as they realize their true soulmate is someone they'll either have to kill or be killed by, and how that dilemma illuminates the wastelands of their private lives. Otis is just a bad guy from a 1980s action flick who deserves to get lit up, a scapegoat of a kind that allows Heat 2 to avoid the really difficult shit that Heat faced head-on, with no apologies, and no compromises. So, unfortunately, even as a Heat fanboy, I cannot recommend Heat 2.
Allegedly, Michael Mann has plans to make a film out of Heat 2. If he does, I hope he shitcans the Otis character, and just focuses on Shiherlis's adventures in the Free Trade Zone and beyond. It's undercooked in the text, but the basic ingredients are there. Just needs a little more time in the oven. Basically, I hope the movie ditches the prequel stuff, and leans into the sequel material. Although, honestly, I have no plans to watch it no matter what form the movie version takes. First off, Heat 2, the book, left my ass kinda chapped. Secondly, the 1995 movie has no need of a sequel. Heat's loose ends and ambiguities are part of the point. If you've seen it, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you haven't seen it, well, I recommend you give it a shot. Even if it doesn't sound like your kind of movie, you may be surprised by its depths. Hanna and McCauley are a couple of hardasses, yet the final moments of their saga are unexpectedly tender. Heat 2 doesn't have anything like that, but it does have a big fiery car crash/shootout on a freeway.
Which is the damndest thing, isn't it?
The book ends up dumber than the movie.
Sorta genius, that . . .
