Public Enemies

Here we have another opus in which Christian Bale plays second fiddle. This is also one of the reasons that Michael Mann did not achieve the perfection of his classic Heat, in which the protagonists were equal. Here, the star is Johnny Depp, or rather his Dillinger, a tough bank robber with a heart in the hands of his beloved Marion Cotillard. I also perceive the disadvantages of the digital camera (cheap home-made visuals, noise) as a handicap; what worked effectively in Cloverfield, because it is a mirror of current technological development and the definition of a new sub-genre, cannot work well in a gangster film set in the 1930s. Despite that, the film has numerous positive aspects. It is an elegantly directed, manly retro crime movie with a brilliant Depp, who is the film’s alpha and omega. It also has excellent shootouts, quality set designs and costumes, as well as great dialogue between Depp and Cotillard. Mann brilliantly captures the period atmosphere, makes the film dark in the proper noir fashion and doesn’t forget to pay homage to the golden age of Hollywood. Public Enemies is not as deep as Heat, but it’s not as shallow as Miami Vice. It’s something in between and even though I expected a little bit more, I’m still satisfied. (2009-07-01)

There’s no need to hide it under a mountain of text, when one word is enough to describe Public Enemies to the tee: borefest; maybe extended with the adjective digital. It’s hard to say why this flat gangster flick needed to be so long, when not a single one of the protagonists develops in any noticeable way (Purvis has only goal for the entire film and Dillinger doesn't evolve at all after meeting Billie). The biggest problem is how uninteresting both of the main characters are; what can you do when you don’t have anyone to root for (because both of them can be seen negatively) and you don’t give a toss about their fates? A weaker 6/10. (2009-08-18)

A "Michael Mann film" with everything there is to love and hate about it. It's probably going to have a hard time getting through the movie theaters, judging by the reaction of the Johnny Depp fans sitting next to me when I was sitting in there, but it's a hot contender for the title of "film of the year." (2009-07-10)

Mann continues where he left off with Miami Vice – in raw and unadorned filmmaking, in which there is sharp sound and naturalistic image of a digital camera. He once again helps himself wonderfully with music that gives the sequences a gradient and atmosphere. Unfortunately, the intention to make a 1930s version of Heat failed due to the script, and because of Christian Bale. I don't know who is to more blame, but Depp's thug is the main character, and the sleek man of the law is absolutely unable to handle any problems or ambiguities. It’s all about John Dillinger, and Michael Mann, with his foppish and gentleman-like nature, pays tribute to all of the mustachioed gangster melodramas from the past. It works great, including the ending. The motif of Dillinger as the last representative of gallant robbers, which is destroyed by an inconspicuous mafia racketeering, brings a certain depth to the film. For two and a half hours, Public Enemies kept me entertained, because Depp and Cotillard work well together, and Mann is able to dive right into the middle of the events. But there is something magical missing – in this case the poignant tension between law and crime, good and evil. Dillinger and Purvis are both far too unambiguous to form as explosive a pair as Hanna and McAuley. (2009-07-01)

Miami Heat in the thirties where the first half is rather slow (even for Mann) but the second half more than makes up for this in genius. Production design? Pricey. Atmosphere? Such that money can’t buy. P.S.: If you ever read King’s short story “The Death of Jack Hamilton", you’ll have come across similar characters. (2009-07-02)

A great gangster flick! I'm sorry I've put the movie off for so long. Johnny Depp is absolutely outstanding here, the action is awesome, I can still hear the shots from the Thompsons; great dialogue, engaging narrative, I'm really impressed. I'm starting to like this type of films more and more lately. (2014-06-15)

I approached Public Enemies with distrust despite the names involved because I had read some fairly negative criticism before watching the film. Fortunately, it was only prejudice because I had the honor of watching one of the most interesting films in the gangster genre in the last 10 years. If I don't give it five stars, it's only because the competition in this area is very high; very few periods and genres are mapped as well as the world of American gangsters in the 1930s. Johnny Depp plays his narcissistic and fame-craving Dillinger with ease and gusto, and his surroundings also consist of interesting characters with good casting. The portrayal of the love relationship falls a little flat, and I can imagine a more charismatic and charming actress in the lead role. It also plays a role that Dillinger's partner was only a passive element in his life; those desperate women from the movies Bonnie and Clyde or Mesrine: Killer Instinct, who directly participated in the robberies, are simply more appealing to the viewer. The film's strengths are its music and professional direction. Overall impression: 85%. I can't help but add that, compared to Scarface, which has a much higher rating, Public Enemies is a superior spectacle in terms of filmmaking. It's like comparing a tank to a Kia... (2009-12-14)

Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and Marion Cotillard in a re-write of a modern pre-war gangster film? Perfect. (2022-09-10)

I don’t know if it makes any sense to play a trailer to an audience about the movie they are about to watch, but since it’s a well-made trailer, no harm's done. The fact that Mann is a perfectionist and shot the movie precisely in the locations where the events took place probably doesn’t need a further explanation, but because of this Public Enemies gains an indescribable atmosphere, that captured me from the beginning and didn’t let me go until the door closes, which happens to be the ending shot of the movie. The digital camera was able to squeeze something different from a “retro" gangster movie than I’m used to. On top of that, Mike knows how to surprise in very unexpected places and sometimes he creates something memorable from a very ordinary scene. And I haven’t even started about the action sequences. To put a movie about bank robbers into hands of a man responsible for the best ever scene about robbing a bank was a golden move. Mostly, they are presented in a “matter of fact" kind a way, but executed with an absolute virtuosity and the icing on the cake is a shoot out in (hands up, patriots ;-) Little Bohemia. Depp and Bale are both awesome, Depp maybe a bit more, but also maybe because he gets more space in the story. The music, as usual with Mann, is perfectly selected and Elliot Goldenthal almost like he’s picking up on his previous collaboration with Mann. I hope there’ll be a purely orchestral soundtrack too. Despite having a lot of common, another Heat isn’t happening, but that’s logical. Every good movie should be unique. (2009-07-09)

Another gem with heart and conceptual depth that many people (in the cinema, but also on FilmBooster) won't understand and will only see what is visible at first glance: a standard and routine crime story with a handheld camera and raw shootouts with a minimum of emotions. Michael Mann is still the same, but the film is incredibly cool and well thought out. A slightly weaker version of Heat, more intimate and unfortunately set in the 1930s. (2009-07-25)

Oh man… Michael Mann is one of my favorite directors, and even though I’ve never been a big fan of Depp or Bale, I was excited to see how they’d handle this intriguing story. I love gangster films, especially set in the “old days,” so how is it possible that I was BORED for 140 minutes? I was genuinely shocked by how many times I wanted to turn it off. On the plus side, the music was spot-on, and the ending was solid, but this was hands-down my biggest disappointment of the year. Hard to believe it’s from the same director who made some of my favorite films. 35%. (2009-10-13)

On the one hand, the digital camera (I don't get it, but by the end I got used to it), the drawn-out plot and several historical inaccuracies, on the other hand, the perfect actors and especially the actress, the excellently filmed shootouts, very suspenseful scenes and Goldenthal's magical music. Public Enemies is good, even very good, but it’s not perfect. If Michael Mann had wanted to make something like Heat from the 1930s (and he probably did, given how sympathetically or unsympathetically Dillinger and Purvis are portrayed), he didn't succeed. But nobody expected that anyway, did they? (2013-03-12)

I hate to do this to Mann, but I just can't rate higher this time. His Public Enemies is a stylish and very appealing film on the outside, but inside it’s desperately underdeveloped and unremarkable, passing only out of inertia and the memories of the great Heat, which is on a much higher level both in content and form, as it relies on a better script and can lean on De Niro and Pacino, whose personal rivalry is the strongest motif of the story. And that's what's sorely lacking here, because Christian Bale, however charismatic and convincing, is sidelined at the expense of Depp's gangster, who plays first fiddle and sets the pace of the story. The long runtime is also a bit of a problem, Mann uses it to create the right period atmosphere and to precisely outline the relationship between Depp and Cotillard, but it slows down the narrative and, something that’s especially noticeable, fails to establish a stronger relationship between the viewer and the main characters, so that we ultimately don't know who to root for. That said, the shootouts and the action sequences are excellent, Mann is at home there and no one can compete with him, as well as the musical score, the authentic cinematography and an the emotionally charged ending that at least partially redeems the reputation. After Heat I expected a lot, but I don't think it's possible to repeat such a film. 70% (2013-02-07)

Michael Mann is a directorial demon, no question about it. Public Enemies mainly tapped into his desire to experiment. However, the importance of this film is undeniable: surely no one will try shooting the 1930s with a digital camera again. It's just incredibly unfitting, and it makes the film look like a wilder Cops and Robbers. The film is also cyclical and undynamic. The viewer feels like they are seeing one scene for the third time. The lackluster or non-existent music doesn't even make it passable. However, the pleasant guitar playing in perhaps two scenes is all the more pleasing. The third thing is the lack of believable relationships between the characters. No spark, no believable flame. You can't buy Depp's love for the sultry dresser because he keeps acting like he just wants to bend her over and send her on the first bus to Mumbai, regardless of the bonds of friendship. I'm using a digital camera to explain it here too. The film simply evokes reconstruction and reconstructions aren't much used to relationships. But otherwise some of the scenes, especially the action scenes, are really great. The sound is perhaps the best I've ever heard in a film. The shootouts are really elaborate and intense. But in the end, there are fewer of them than I would have liked. (2009-07-15)

Michael Mann can shoot effective scenes with a lot of shooting. He will remain unbeatable in The Untouchables. Dillinger's story offers an ideal subject for such a director. It seems to me, however, that the potential remained untapped. I probably expected much more from such a star-studded cast and an attractive story. Foolishly, I also looked forward to some exquisite dialogues between Depp and Bale, of which only one remained in the end, which will probably stick in my memory forever. And of course, my favorite magical and amazing Marion... (2022-12-26)

The Godfather must have cast a shadow on me, and this mafia film just didn't sit right with me. Not that Johnny Depp isn't trying, Bale always tries, sometimes even too much, and Mann's direction isn't bad either, plus the digital widescreen camera... Perhaps if I had seen it in the movie theater and not on the small screen I would have enjoyed it more. It's period-appropriate, but story-wise the film just didn't grab me. I guess I watch too many movies. (2014-03-12)

Actually, my first Mann, which I watched calmly to the end (and which I mainly wanted to watch to the end :)) The use of digital, the slow-motion shots, the great combination of period music and modern soundtrack + as always the excellent Johnny Depp in the lead role – all this makes Public Enemies an excellent, imaginatively made gangster film that lacks little for a maximum rating – in fact, I don't even know what. :)) But it simply not up to a pure 5 stars like Ridley's American Gangster. 80-85% (2010-07-24)