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Johnny Depp and Christian Bale emerge from two of the biggest blockbuster series of all time (Pirates of the Caribbean and Batman, respectively) to star in this crime drama from HEAT director Michael Mann. Depp stars as charismatic 1930s gangster John Dillinger, whose notorious bank robberies have turned him into a celebrity during the Depression era. The rise in crime has J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) desperate to have his newly created FBI take down gangsters such as Dillinger, "Pretty Boy" Floyd (Channing Tatum), and "Baby Face" Nelson (Stephen Graham). Enter Agent Melvin Purvis (Bale), an ambitious crimefighter sent to Chicago to capture Dillinger and his gang. The criminal has evaded the law before, but he is drawn to the Second City by the beautiful Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard). Though PUBLIC ENEMIES boasts big names, it feels more like an arthouse offering than a typical gangster picture. With its intimately shot violence and 1930s setting, the film is more BONNIE AND CLYDE than GOODFELLAS. Mann and director of photography Dante Spinotti alternate between hand-held, high-quality digital cameras and more traditional film stock, giving this crime drama a carefully composed, thoroughly modern look. But the casting of the leads is vintage Hollywood: Depp could be the modern incarnation of silent star Rudolph Valentino, and Cotillard’s wide-eyed beauty--and talent--would fit right in with the starlets of the golden age. Everyone else, including Bale, fades into the background, but it’s hard to complain when Depp and Cotillard give such magnetic performances.
Johnny Depp does an incredible job making you think this is almost a biography with John Dillinger as the star. He really sells the character. The supporting cast did very well also. Music was also pretty good.
The only person that I didn't like in the movie was Christian Bale. At first, I was put off cause here's ol potty mouth and diva boy attitude. Which I had a hard time separating reality from the movie. So I wasn't enjoying it as much as I should. THEN after I read up on actual men. I was more impressed with the performance that Mr. Bale turned in for Melvin Purvis.
The reason that I gave it a good instead of an excellent is that it was not historically accurate. The time line of the deaths of the characters is not accurate. They took some artistic licensing. Although it makes the movie more exciting, there was probably other robberies and such that were true to life that they could have reenacted. Check your history books and see what I mean.Read full review
How can you go wrong two leading actors and one great director. The movie starts a bit slow but once it gets going its gripping, violent, and tense. Depp gives Dillinger depth in character, Bale protrays a man obsessed with dare I say ease we know how Bale can be as an actor at times to intense and here he is no different. Great movie.
I have seen a lot of gangster movies and in my opinion this one is better than any of them. This is definatly a instant classic. It is very action packed and relatively clean as far as language goes. There is a lot of blood in this movie, though (high powered rifles blowing peoples stomachs up and stuff like that). I would definatly recommend that you watch this movie if your a fan of gangster movies. If you have kids, you might want to watch it before they do just to make sure that you want to let them watch it. It does have a lot of things that kids shouldn't watch so it might not be a good idea to let them watch it.
A little summary...
In the action-drama Public Enemies, acclaimed filmmaker Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard in the story of legendary Depression-era outlaw John Dillinger (Depp) - the charismatic bank robber whose lightning raids made him the number one target of J. Edgar Hoover's fledgling FBI and its top agent, Melvin Purvis (Bale, and a folk hero to a nation besieged by financial hardship and ready to celebrate a mythic figure. No one could stop Dillinger and his gang. No jail could hold him. His charm and audacious jailbreaks endeared him to almost everyone - from his girlfriend Billie Frechette (Cotillard) to an American public who had no sympathy for the banks that had plunged the country into the Depression.Read full review