Finally, after an incredibly disappointing string of crappy,
halfhearted summer movie releases, we get to the good stuff. Public
Enemies is entertainment for adults, a cat-and-mouse period
thriller riddled with glamour, excitement, and real cinematic
craftsmanship. Michael Mann, solidly rebounding from 2006’s disastrous
Miami Vice remake, seems to be having the time of his life
mythologizing John Dillinger. He gets the most out of his cast, too:
Billy Crudup, especially, nails J. Edgar Hoover as a creepy bastard who
can’t handle it when reality doesn’t match his desires. Unfortunately,
Christian Bale’s turn as driven FBI agent Melvin Purvis doesn’t quite
match up to the rest of the top-notch cast. Bale plays him a bit too
cardboard; he doesn’t allow the audience to get into Purvis’s head.
But the good far outstrips the bad here. The camera revels in every
luscious period detail, and the tense, brutal action sequences are
classic Mann. This isn’t the best movie he’s ever directed (longish
stretches of the film lack structure and the score veers into generic
territory fairly often), but it’s probably the most entertaining. Even
a couple of heavy-handed moments that accentuate the government’s
willingness to torture in a “war on crime”—government-sanctioned
torture on film is so 2008—can’t make Enemies any
less thrilling.
In many ways, this is a one-man show: Johnny Depp leavens
folk-celebrity bank robber Dillinger with more than a dash of young
Elvis Presley. When he smirks, you half expect him to be assaulted by a
horde of screaming teenage girls. His scenes with Marion Cotillard make
the most of that seductiveness: They look like they’re going to eat
each other. It’s really adorable. Depp usually tries so hard to fugly
himself up or weigh his character down with weird tics that to see him
like this—as an attractive, charismatic, famous man—feels
like a revelation. 
I can’t believe I read a positive movie review in the stranger. Wow.
An attractive, charismatic, famous OLD man. Depp is 46, half again as old as Dillinger when he died (and quite a bit older than Elvis too). Where are the YOUNG actors, and why couldn’t they play this role?
Yes, you’re absolutely right Fnarf, if there’s one thing we can count on from Hollywood, it’s age bias against the young.
Depp indeed looks and acts magnificently and is far more attractive than most of the big male stars half his age. But perhaps you’d rather see Jake Gyllenhaal stammer his way through yet another role that outstrips his meager talents.
Maybe you’d prefer to see Jake Gyllenhaal challenged again by a role that yet again outstrips his modest talents.
Depp’s looks and acting ability represent the upper echelon in Hollywood, a town where age bias against the young, incidentally, is not a problem.
I saw this movie last night and would have to disagree with the author. I didn’t give a shit when Dillinger died because there is absolutely no character development nor did I believe (or care about) the affair between Dillinger and his lover, Fachette. I felt like I was watching either a violent/boring version of Titanic or a lame version of Bonnie and Clyde. This movie missed the opportunity to tell a really good story and the only admirable aspect of the movie was the costumes.
@1: Here are some positive reviews we’ve run in the past month:
Captain Abu Raed
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Drag Me to Hell
Food, Inc.
Moon
O’Horten
The Sleep Dealer
Away We Go
A Woman Under the Influence.
Or check these out
http://bit.ly/F5LEJ
http://tinyurl.com/m7bguo
This movie is not that good!
Yes, it had great costumes and Johhny Depp still looks good. But it is nothing compared to the 1973 version, Dillinger. But then again I wouldn’t expect that the Stranger would give a good review to a film with a bunch of ugly guys in it.
# 5 is right, this film had poor character development and there was very little dialogue.
What happened to Johnny Depp? In the 90s he was so selective with his roles. He does looks good in 30s outfits but that isn’t enough for me … but then again, I’m not gay.
I’m sorry, Depp was an icon once but now he makes over produced piles of predictable crap.
For those who still love Depp’s looks, save your money and just google an image of him then watch Dillinger instead.
This movie is not that good-
Yes, it had great costumes and Johhny Depp still looks good. But it is nothing compared to the 1973 version, Dillinger. But then again I wouldn’t expect that the Stranger would give a good review to a film with a bunch of ugly guys in it.
# 5 is right, this film had poor character development and there was very little dialogue.
What happened to Johnny Depp? In the 90s he was so selective with his roles. He does looks good in 30s outfits but that isn’t enough for me … but then again, I’m not gay.
I’m sorry, Depp was an icon once but now he makes over produced piles of predictable crap.
For those who still love Depp’s looks, save your money and just google an image of him then watch Dillinger instead.
The movie LOOKED great. The costuming, set design, lighting–the production was awesome. Depp looks great in 30’s dress wielding a tommy gun.
But the script was so mind-numbingly dreadful that I found myself looking forward to the shoot-em-up scenes, not so much because I’m a big-bang fan, but because maybe THEN there wouldn’t be much dialogue. Every time Dillinger was allowed to expound on life made me literally cringe.(Roughly: “It ain’t where you’re from–it’s where you’re going.” “We’re having to much fun today to think about tomorrow.” “What do you want?” “Everything, right now.”)
How can we expect to connect with a guy who only speaks in quoteables? Bleagh.
The movie LOOKED great. The costuming, set design, lighting–the production was awesome. Depp looks great in 30’s dress wielding a tommy gun.
But the script was so mind-numbingly dreadful that I found myself looking forward to the shoot-em-up scenes, not so much because I’m a big-bang fan, but because maybe THEN there wouldn’t be much dialogue. Every time Dillinger was allowed to expound on life made me literally cringe.(Roughly: “It ain’t where you’re from–it’s where you’re going.” “We’re having to much fun today to think about tomorrow.” “What do you want?” “Everything, right now.”)
How can we expect to connect with a guy who only speaks in quoteables? Bleagh.
THe next Depp movie im waiting for is Alice in Wonderland. Depp as the as the MadHatter should be a really good show.
I thought Depp as Willy Wonka would be good but then I was sorely disappointed to see it was another Tim Burton daddy issue film.
Alice in Wonderland will probably suck too.
Johnny Depp was one of my heros in adolescence. I love him in everything he did ranging from Ed Wood, Gilbert Grape to Benny & Joon. You name it I liked it.
But I find Tim Burton’s substance lacking teenage driven revenge films exploitative of Johnny Depp’s charming eccentricities.
& the Burton, Depp, Bonham Carter lineup is boring.
I still have faith in all of them individually but they need to break up.
@13 Totally agree with you. Burton needs to change the record before all of his films blend into each other.
And Miami Vice was fucking epic.