She is unrecognizable in that thumbnail. I clicked on the link, hoping not for the worst. She just got her hair did is all! Seems like the exact opposite of a plastic surgery type. Also, they're both improv geniuses. You can't improv when you can't emote because you turned your face into hightech composites.
It's different. It reads like pulp and it's structured like 21st century meets 20th century. It moves around in multiple timelines and has more story arcs. The writing is okay, if you were reading a script. A weird read honestly. But I think Mann has enough gem material in here to make something great. Not sure how he's doing a multi-day stakeout of a heist but it's a very cinematic tale throughout. You can easily visualize it as you're reading. If Bale is playing a villain, he's got some meat to chew into here.
Edit: At any rate, there's more material here than he had for Heat but he mentioned before he always wrote little books for his cast to understand their background stories. So, Mann's approach to filmmaking is way more than just a set-in-stone script but there's subtext that's not explicitly stated (hence Vincent's Great Ass coked-out moment, etc.) and tons of research into the mechanics of how thieves truly work coupled with deep knowledge of the law enforcement end of things. Heat 2 reads like 3 separate features and maybe it could be.
Wow, he's actually talking about the decline of cinema! I was expecting some sort of morality crusade bullshit. But, no, he's the more learned, cultured, supportive type and this should not have been so surprising to me.
Edit: I'm guessing people downvoting are jumping to same conclusions. :(
Yeah, I've checked going back and forth and it doesn't seem to have an effect any longer. I guess the general issue has been resolved.