Johnny Depp stars as John Dillinger in this 30’s gangster film based on a true story.
Dillinger is a notorious criminal who spends his time robbing banks, evading the long arm of the law and plotting ways to escape prison each time he is caught.
Hot on his thieving tail is Christian Bale’s character Melvin Purvis who makes it his duty to hunt down Dillinger and his men and see them firmly back behind bars by any means possible.
Along the way, Dillinger meets the love of his life in French woman Billie Frechette; he falls hard and fast and decides to take her along for the ride in his crazy, fast-paced life.
Public Enemies is a bit disappointing and was not quite what I was expecting. The first half of the film is very slow paced and the scenes do not seem to fit together very well. There is a lot going on but not much explanation as to why. This sadly gets the audience off on a bad start with it.
The second half of the film, however, is a huge improvement; the pace is better and the action flows more effectively which makes it much more enjoyable to watch.
Public Enemies has an interesting plot, some interesting characters and some solid acting; it’s use of hand-held camera and natural sound is effective as it really gives a documentary feel, reminding you that the film is based on a true story but, these positive aspects do not quite save it from the poor pacing and the lack of coherence at the start, which really lets it down.
There was definitely a lot more that director Michael Mann could have done with this film to make it more of a hit.
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