Mann redeems himself

Rating: 9/10 (1 July 2009)

Wow. Michael Mann completely redeems himself with this movie after Miami Vice fell short of expectations. This movie is right up there with Heat which is my top 5 all time.
The movie takes some artistic freedom in telling the story. here is the plot: The movie picks up when Dillinger finishes up a 9 year stint for burglary and busts his friends out of jail. They have a lot of time to make up so they start robbing banks right away. The movie doesn't explain anything, it just drops you into right Dillinger's crew as they begin taking scores. Soon J Edgar Hoover and his boy Melvin Purvis have made the gang and are just a couple steps behind. Dillinger picks up a girlfriend along the way, getting busted in Florida, escaping from jail, eventually hooking up with Baby Face Nelson's gang, getting injured while robbing a bank, getting into a shootout in a cabin safe house, then trying to lay low only to get ratted on by a hooker, ultimately leading to his demise.
The Good: Johnny Depp is fantastic as Dillinger. They couldn't have cast a better actor. Leonardo DiCaprio was originally going to play him when DiCaprio's studio was going to do the film, but I'm glad that didn't pop off. Depp is on point and plays the heist man to perfection. Tommy from snatch plays a great Baby Face Nelson. Dillinger's crew is also very good. The shootouts are great, cars, clothes all the style Mann pays attention to is all there. Marion Cotillard is very good as Dillinger's girlfriend, and there's a scene where she gets smacked around in a police station that makes your blood boil. Billy Cudrup as J Edgar Hoover is really good too. The story is great. Even though Mann takes some artistic freedom in telling the story it flows very well. You are definitely rooting for Dillinger throughout the film. I was very moved in the end, got choked up and almost lost it. It's very unusual for a movie to do that to me.
The Bad: Christian Bale is turning out to be a one dimensional actor. he just doesn't have the range we thought he had when he was coming up. They should have cast Ed Norton if they wanted someone to play Melvin Purvis the right way. Bale pays more attention to getting his accent right than playing a convincing human being. On the contrary, Melvin Purvis is definitely the antagonist in this film so maybe Bale's wooden lifeless portrayal is good in making us like Dillinger. Maybe Purvis really acted the way Bale portrayed him, but his performance was the weakest link of the film.
The Ugly: Enough with the HD already, Mann. During the shootout in the woods the HD makes the footage blurry and annoying. HD is great in some circumstances, but regular film is definitely superior in many aspects.