Public Enemies is about the famed 1930’s bank robber, John Dilinger (Johnny Depp). You can definitely tell it’s directed by Michael Mann (Miami Vice, Heat): realistic gunfights (from the awesome sound to the way they carry their weapons), stylish characters and a love story. I was worried about Mann shooting digitally on a period flick and I was really surprised how much I enjoyed it. It added a bit of realism to the movie. Besides seeing what looked like a present day el train, the rest of the production value was great. Mann built a world that was believable and realistic.
One major problem of the movie is the way John Dilinger is written, it would have been great if we knew his motives. Instead we get a character that acts cool but not much depth. Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), an FBI agent assigned to take down Dilinger is a great contrast. Even though he’s more serious than Dilinger, he shows more humanity because he’s torn upholding his beliefs while being pressured by Hoover (played great by Billy Crudup) to close the case. The last 1/3rd of the movie was a bit anti-climactic but looking back at it, it follows the same pattern as Heat.
Pacing for Public Enemies was off. You might have to watch it twice to fully enjoy the movie. Some plotlines were explained so fast that I didn’t know what was going on. On the other hand, the love story was slow and somewhat over the top.
While Public Enemies is not perfect, I still enjoyed it because of Mann’s style.
Grade: B
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John Spartan
Jul 2, 2009 -
At least you enjoyed it.
KichiGuy
Jul 2, 2009 -
I’m gonna go watch it at some cheap theater for $3! So, either way, it won’t be too much of a waste.
Cricket
Jul 2, 2009 -
The more I think about the movie, the more I like it. Some scenes were subtle but it made the story better in the end.
KichiGuy
Jul 7, 2009 -
eheh…emm…I saw the movie and thought it was kinda boring. Johnny depp is the only thing that made that movie somewhat watchable. Perhaps the story is based too much on reality, but I didn’t find it to be interesting. I give it a C
iEmily!
Jul 15, 2009 -
This movie was definitely more enjoyable for females… Johnny Depp playing a badass bankrobber and falling for a girl who’s completely average in any way… meow.
iEmily!
Jul 15, 2009 -
…I was trying to make the “i” in front of my name be like an upside down exclamation point… and I failed. I’m not trying to be dumb, like people who put “i”s to be like iPod, jsyk.