At some point in your life, your parents have probably told you to be the bigger man and walk away. This is a piece of advice that Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) blatantly disregarded in Heat however, and it went on to cost him his life. Neil is the leader of a group of bank robbers; he's got away with a large sum of money, and his girlfriend, both of them alive, despite his former friend Waingro actually being an undercover police officer. The fact that Neil actually survives a police shootout, started by Waingro, is a miracle, but rather than counting himself extremely lucky, and making his break for New Zealand, Neil takes the altogether more badass option of going to kill Waingro first. Whilst it's easily the cooler option for any self-respecting anti-hero, it alerts the police to his whereabouts. Oops. Archenemy Lieutenant Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) turns up for one final showdown, and it's not one that Neil walks away from. After coming so close to the perfect getaway, he's gunned down, and all because he couldn't walk away from LA without starting one last fight. The tragedy of Neil McCauley serves an example to anyone on the run from the police: don't attack them when they've lost you. You won't go far wrong if you stick by that lesson.
