3/4  Good historical crime film
Basically a pretty standard action movie that I still found myself entertained by maybe because I am very into historical films especially more accurate ones. Although it really does not get into the mind of any of the characters very well... (read full)

1/4  Public Enemies, a Mr. E Movie Review
Public Enemies, a Mr. E Movie Review

(Run time: 140 min. - Directed by: Michael Mann - Starring: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale)

I had huge expectations going in to see the new Johnny Depp gangster flick Public Enemies. I am a big gangs... (read full)

3.5/4  Action movie or Epic Movie?
Michael Mann is a guy I've looked up to for some time now. He is indisputably one of the greatest film makers of our time and has provided the world with some ground breaking films. Let's forget 2006's hiccup that was the Miami Vice movie ... (read full)

3.5/4  Public Enemies
Compared to some of the crap that's come out this summer (Wolverine, Transformers 2, G.I. Joe), this movie looks like Citizen Kane. It's not your traditional summer movie because, God forbid, Michael Mann makes you use your brain in this m... (read full)

3/4  Public Enemies
Public Enemies is yet again proof of how good and especially stylish director Michael Mann is. This is not his best work to date, but definitely one to see. And of course it goes without saying that Johnny Depp was great in portraying the ... (read full)

3/4  Back to old school "Gangsters"
copy the link and paste in your browser for the audio version of the review:
http://www.box.net/shared/static/0pk1pq764t.mp3

“Public Enemies” rated R for gangster violence and some language (along with a sex scene, but no nudity) star... (read full)

3/4  Public Enemies Quick Review
Nothing too special here. A solid movie. Action is better than I expected, some scenes were amazing, and I learned some. It was missing the IT factor. It was way too thin and not emotional enough to be an Oscar nom. Collateral is better.

4/5 R rating a disappointment......
  by taylor johnson (madison, wisconsin)
I was very upset that this movie was rated R. I really think that it sunk the film. There was a total of three swear words (if that), the violence was almost cartoonish (Dick Tracy with Warren Beatty was much more violent)and there was certainly no sexual content. But the hand held camera action was kind of unusual even though I know that Michael Mann was going for a natural look and I think they achieved that. Being the huge Johnny Depp fan that I am, it made me sick that while the filming of this movie was going on 11 miles down the road from where I live, I couldn't go meet him but I think he made an awesome Dillinger. He was definitely much more interesting than the real guy. The real Dillinger looked like a scum-bag. Depp gave him some class. I didn't really believe the character of his girlfriend though. The way he treated her, she had no reason to fall for the guy or put her life on the line the way they did. Even their one love scene was so lame, it was difficult to believe in their romance. The character of Billie had was about as charming and believable as a rock-nuthin! Christina Slater, on the other hand, as Melvin Purvis, scared the daylights out of me. He was determined to get Dillinger and I'm sure that is what drove him to madness, Purvis I mean. I also did not like the the beginning of the movie, where he shot down Pretty Boy Floyd like he was a deer. Not cool. All in all, I was O.K. with the film but I'm not so sure that I want to own it. If I want to look at Depp I can always watch one of the three Pirates movies that I own, or Benny and Joon (young Depp) or Sleepy Hollow (again much scarier than this film). I just wish this film had been a little bit better and maybe Oscar worthy. Now, I don't think so. Too bad.

5/5 Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotilliard & Michael Mann Directing!!--'Nuff Said!!
  by MUZIK4THAPEOPLE!! (Orlando, FL)
I have this film (the 2-Disc version) on pre-order and can't wait to see the
special features and delete/extended scenes!---My boy Johnny Depp always brings it!
The depth, dimensions, quirks & ticks...he creates and inhabits whole characters
in everything he plays in! His rendition of the notorius and beloved John Dillinger
shows no chinks in his acting armour as of yet!
Christian Bale is no slouch in this department either!
He turns in a great performance in this as FBI agent, Melvin Purvis
as well as Marion Cotilliard, who to me "channeled" Edith Piaf in "La Vie En Rose"!!
In this she plays (Depp) Dillinger's love interest and melts with Johnny Depp brilliantly.
The other cast members: Billy Crudup as J. Edgar Hoover, Channing Tatum and others
turned in believable supporting perfomances as well.
With the brilliant Michael Mann (Heat) at the directing helm, this film delivers big time!
I saw this at the theatres twice because the performances were so good,
meshing with the multi-layered storytelling and direction in such a way
that you will see something that you missed every time you see it!
This is definitely one for the DVD collection--Buy It!

3/5 Nowhere near as good as "Heat"
  by Jiang Xueqin (Toronto, Canada)
The 1995 movie "Heat" made Michael Mann's movie career, and ever since then he has made movies similar to "Heat" in that the two leading characters manage to be both doppelgangers of each other while being a study in contrasts. That could be said about "Heat" (1995), "The Insider" (1999), "Collateral" (2004), "Miami Vice" (2006), and now "Public Enemies" (the only exception to this rule is "Ali" (2001), which is also Michael Mann's best film since "Heat").

In "Public Enemies," Johnny Depp stars as John Dillinger and Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis, the FBI man tasked with hunting down public enemy number one. There's a lot of moral ambiguity that makes "Heat" interesting, but "Public Enemies" is very heavy-handed. Michael Mann asserts that John Dillinger represented American freedom, the lone hero who fights for love, friends, and honor in dark despicable times. And in the end he's crushed by the social forces arrayed against him: the dangerously ambitious J. Edgar Hoover who wants to use Dillinger's death to catapult himself into national fame and power, and the darkly powerful Syndicate who, in having reached a compromise with law enforcement to engage in sinisterly quiet racketeering, need to eliminate Dillinger because he is anything but sinisterly quiet. With his friends all dead and his lover in jail, John Dillinger only hopes for a loud and fast death.

The story is of course Hollywood, and having Johnny Depp star in the lead role assures a sympathetic rendering of the John Dillinger legend. The real problems are the thinness of the script, the banality of the characters, and the entire pointlessness of the endeavor. "Heat" was its own internal world, and that world was vast, striking, and knowable; "Public Enemies" involves both an era and a nation and so promises to offer a much larger world, but instead it comes across as small-minded and confined. Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro made an interesting study in contrasts, and their dueling personalities made the movie dynamic and alive. In "Public Enemies," neither the characters of Johnny Depp and Christian Bale is developed so as to offer the audience an understanding of their personalities and worldview, and thus their duel really doesn't seem to have any purpose except to drive the plot along.

"Public Enemies" is a pointless waste of time.


4/5 A film that drips quality but has some notable flaws
  by Mr W (Manchester, England)
Most of this film works incredibly well. The period piece feel is completely effective, and Johnny Depp is compelling and watchable as Dillinger. I felt Christian Bale's performance was well judged, as he played a man who was a bit of a weasel but it's not how we're used to seeing Bale.

For the rest of the cast, Stephen Graham stands out. The violence and setpieces are well done, some of the best I've seen.

The flaws are in some aspects of the narrative, which flags in places, and that some confusion on minor points can arise. But overall this is good cinema and well worth seeing.

Sherlock Holmes and the Underpants Of Death

5/5 The Best Movie of 2009
  by Texan (Texas)
Michael Mann makes another great film. This has a classic feel to it and with great acting and directing, you can't go wrong with this pick!