Johnny Dillinger (Johnny Depp) was infamous back in the 1930’s. This man robbed many banks and likes to escape from jail. He sees a girl he likes and whoos her and they become an item. These are all the things that Johnny likes to do, except, Michael Mann somehow was able to make these things not interesting and drawn out. You won’t find any inkling of what made Johnny Dillinger so great other than that he’s the leader. It’s all business.

And that is my main problem with Michael Mann’s Public Enemies. You never really get to see the other side of Johnny Dillinger, only his non-inspiring love story. He’s already famous, so there’s no sense of how people react to his rise and fall. There’s no build up to the things he’s doing. Robbing banks requires no planning with no drama and car chase sequences felt like watching two kids on a Power Wheel battling each other (on second thought, the Power Wheel battle might sound more interesting). Other than that, Johnny falls for a coat checker. His dialogue reeks of cheese with lines like, “I’m not like most men,” and “You’re not suppose to leave me.”

Johnny Depp plays a very forgettable character with the personality of paint drying, who never shows any kind of emotions. I mean, he sees his love being taken away, and he watches as if he’s a bystander not knowing what’s going on. Even his fellow men, who he values and protects, dies in front of him and he just walks away like nothing happened.

All the supporting characters are useless including Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff) and Faramir (David Wenham). Christian Bale’s performance is like his performance in 3:10 to Yuma, a one-dimensional do-gooder who also has a personality of paint drying.

The only scene in the movie that really woke me up was the last scene in the theater. It’s the only scene in the movie that had any notion of suspense since we get to see the law getting ready and trying to capture Johnny Dillinger.

Let me say that I as I left the theater, I was on the same boat as the group in front of and behind me when they said that the movie was too long and made them fall asleep. It’s a shame since this movie had such a stellar cast with Captain Jack Sparrow, Batman, a Spartan, an MMA fighter, La Magra, and Dr. Manhattan (just kidding about the MMA fighter being a stellar cast).

Grade: D

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