Val Kilmer fans are only just learning something epic about his iconic heist scene in Heat.
The revelation came after the American actor, known for his roles in Top Gun, Batman Forever, Willow and more, sadly died on Tuesday, April 1 aged 65 in Los Angeles, California of pneumonia.
As Hollywood and its film fanatics mourn his passing, they have taken a look back at Val Kilmer’s incredible performance in Michael Mann’s 1995 crime/thriller Heat where he played Chris Shiherlis. The movie features a showdown between professional bank robber Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) and police officer Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino).
The most talked about scene in the film is the bank heist sequence where McCauley’s crew, which includes Chris Shiherlis, take part in a shootout with Hanna’s task force on the streets of downtown L.A. This has been dubbed “one of the greatest heist sequences in film history” by Cinema Tweets on X.
All The Right Movies also posted a clip of the heist on X with the caption: “RIP VAL KILMER. His gun handling in Heat was deemed so expert it was apparently shown to US Marine recruits as a lesson in how to reload quickly under fire.”
A gun expert and weapons trainer, Taran Butler, has broken down Heat’s bank heist and why Val Kilmer is so impressive in it. According to Butler, Mann really “knows guns” and “knows shooting”, giving the shootout scenes in his movies an “extra level of authenticity”, Screen Rant reported.
Butler praised Kilmer for his shooting and reloading in Heat’s shootout as he called it “super awesome.” Something fans are just finding out is that unlike many action movies during that time, Mann made sure that lead actors like De Niro, Pacino and Kilmer received extensive weapons training in order to look convincing.
The film director revealed in a behind-the-scenes featurette for Heist that ex-SAS soldier and prolific author Andy McNab “played a key role in designing an exhaustive training regimen”, and the main actors are all shown doing impressive real shooting on a training course. Another way Mann made the bank heist scene come across as authentic is by the “unique sound design.”
It is common for movies to add gunshot sound effects during post-production which can sometimes result in weapons that don’t sound particularly powerful or realistic. Screen Rant adds: “While there’s nothing wrong with this approach, as some films obviously benefit from having more subdued gunshot sound effects to complicate lighter, less realistic tones, Mann opted to capture the sound of real weapons firing blanks in the downtown city setting, making the shootout sound terrifyingly real.”
Fans have taken to X to comment on Kilmer’s passing and the incredible shootout scene in Heist. One said: “Legend on screen and apparently in military training too. Hollywood really lost one of the greats.”
Another added: “What a great scene in a brilliant movie. Such a talented actor. RIP Val Kilmer.”
A big fan of Kilmer commented: “Sleep well doc, best performance by an actor for me period.” A third remarked: “I think Val Kilmer was the best actor in this movie. Rest in Peace.”