Wonderful character development!

How sad is this?

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Public Enemies is a movie starring Christian Bale, Johnny Depp, and Christian Stolte. The Feds try to take down notorious American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s. Public Enemies might hold one of Johnny Depp's best perfomances from the last decade alongside his scary as hell appearance and perfomance from the movie Black Mass as well. Excellent direction, terrific sets and a well done storyline make for an amazing crime drama that both Depp and Bale gave their all and in the end? it paid off quite well to be perfectly honest. Definitely one of Mann's most underrated works in my opinion. (10/10)

Acting: Marion Cotillard was surprisingly good, even though I never liked any of her performances(she was godawful in The Dark Knight Rises). Christian Bale was surprisingly bland, even though I loved his every other performance(he was fantastic in The Dark Knight Rises). Johnny Depp was quite alright. 7 /10Direction and cinematography: Fine. 7/10Soundtrack: Very boring. 3/10Plot: Repetitive. And even though there were many action scenes, the movie was boring. I checked my watches every few minutes. The ending was fine, except for the very last scene, that was not believable at all. 5/10Overall: Michael Mann didn't even try to come close to Heat in terms of quality. The script wasn't great, the romantic scenes were awkward, but the scene where Dillinger is escaping his second prison, that was very good. 6/10Best scene: The second prison break.

A great acting cast headed by Johnny Depp. A great biographical film, but greatly defined where it enters the zone of dramatic and criminal. The action is intense and requires you to follow the next event every moment. The time and place in which the action of the film is placed, which is the thirties of the last century, are excellent. In my opinion, the rating could be 8.2.

Michael Mann has made some really great movies. Heat and Collateral are amazing. But he has made some weaker ones as well. Unfortunately Public Enemies belongs to his weaker. I had high hopes for this when it was upcoming. The poster of Johnny Depp clad in a trench coat and fedora hat and holding a Tommy Gun looked so cool. I imagined this as being like Heat but set in the 1930s. In several ways the setup is kind of similar. Johnny Depp and Christian Bale two actors at top of their game felt perfect as the leads. The criminal vs. detective thriller with both being the main character. Unfortunately it fails in all the things that Heat did so brilliantly. I've seen Public Enemies again after my first disappointed reaction but even when I tried to ignore my expectations on the director being Michael Mann and not to compare it to Heat Public Enemies is still a dull movie. The movie looks stunning I feel they have totally succeeded in recreating the 1930s Depression-era USA. But while the outside looks great it is on the inside that it is lacking. The story that is based on reality is actually a good one but the movie somehow still makes it feel uninteresting and completely devoid of any real substance . A major problem for the story is that we never feel anything for the characters. The actors do well overall but the writing is the problem also here. Johnny Depp fits well as John Dillinger. He looks the part and I can't say anything bad about his acting. It's just that his character lacks any real personality. I feel it's not really clear how the viewer should relate to Dillinger should we root for or against him. And this can be said about all characters in the movie there is no substance or development for any of them. I could not care less relation between Dillinger and Marion Cotillard's character. Christian Bale does well with what he's got but his character is less the focus of the story than Depp's. However I do feel that his attempts at an accent is very inconsistent. Unfortunate is that the action is just as bland as the rest of the movie. Michael Mann can or could direct tense edge of your seat action scenes. But the gun fights here are short and stale. It's just men shooting at each other but there is nothing creative about the action scenes. I'm not expecting these massive action set pieces and I know it's based on true events which seldom are as exciting as we like to see on screen. That doesn't matter. I think of Mann's Collateral which no is not based on reality but my point is that a skilled director can create thrill and suspense without that much spectacular action happening. Public Enemies is a well made movie only technically but lacking creatively. What should have been thrilling is boring. Actors struggling due to lack of characterisation. In the end this is not really a bad movie but it's not good either. Disappointing and forgettable I am sad to conclude.