20 Secret Movie Sub-Plots You Didn't Notice

There are so many vividly drawn characters in Michael Mann's Heat that it can be easy to lose track of them all. 

Whilst Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are front and centre as a criminal mastermind and the detective on his tail, plenty of other actors are on site for compelling character work of their own, from the late Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore, and tragic love interest Amy Brenneman.

There's also Kevin Gage as the sadistic Waingro, who's easy to dismiss as a plot device. He kills a cop in the first act, setting Pacino after De Niro and his gang, and becomes bitter when his old cohorts try to snuff him out in retaliation.

What's easy to miss here is that Waingro is way more than a twisted bank robber - he's a cruel and violent serial killer who kills sex workers and police officers for pleasure. You can see him as a simple villain, but Mann makes it clear he's so much more dangerous than your average loose cannon.