Some movies look better with drugs.

Rating: 5/10 (5 July 2009)

For this one I should have been on Dramamine.
With the advances in video technology, the film-free Public Enemies *looks* amazing, with astoundingly good cinematography and the appealing style that's Michael Mann's signature.
So why did Mann find it creatively necessary to shoot half the movie without a tripod, or for that matter without a Steadicam?
Hand-held shots are great for tracking through forests or following the action in a fast-moving shootout, but the technique is way overdone here. Even establishing shots, wide-angle scenes inside banks, are given the "benefit" of the Shakycam.
The film winds up being dizzying and disorienting. I guess if that's the effect he wanted, Mann pulled it off in spectacular fashion. But anyone prone to visual-induced vertigo should probably give this film a wide berth.
Downgraded a notch due to an upset stomach.