Public Enemies

Walking into the theater to see Public Enemies had me feeling a number of emotions. I had high expectations: Michael Mann, Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, some excellent trailers. Then came the underwhelming reviews, discounting the film as entertaining, but not thoughtful enough when examining the man John Dillinger. I think I came down somewhere in the middle. Dillinger's story wasn't something I knew an awful lot about, so the intrigue surrounding his bank robberies, public reception, and inevitable death was fun to learn about. The only real issue I had was the running time (nearing 2 and a half hours), causing only a couple of moments drag time. But the action was tense and exciting, graphic enough to make you realize real people died, not the actors, but the people those actors played. Mann, who likes his films shot in a certain style, didn't overdo it here. Kind of like a mix between his movies Heat and Collateral, both awesome, but stylistically different in ways, at least from a surface level. Depp and Bale both played their parts well, which isn't that shocking, so maybe I should only consider their acting when they do a poor job. By the end of the film, I learned a little bit about famous bank robber John Dillinger, watched some fun heist scenes and bloody shootouts, so I left the theater a happy man. A little more insight into Dillinger would have been welcome, but some of the mystery behind him keeps things interesting as well.

Genre - Drama/Action (3)

Screenplay (3)
Acting (3)
Production (3)
Directing (3)