America's Most Mediocre

Rating: 4/10 (10 December 2009)

With Michael Mann directing and a variety of A-list actors starring, "Public Enemies" should have been one of the top contenders for the 2010 Academy Awards, arriving next March. On top of the credentials belonging to the talent in front of and behind the camera, its source material, the last year of notorious bank robber John Dillinger's life, should have been enough to clench a nomination for "Best Picture." Unfortunately, its likelihood of garnering such attention has been diminished by its undeniable mediocrity. Johnny Depp, portraying Dillinger, is very good in this role, and Marion Cotillard simply steals the show as his lover, Billie Frechette; but the rest is flat and surprisingly lifeless. For a film that had the fuel to come out swinging and deliver a showstopper of a gangster drama, it instead limps out with a mild whimper and never gains the momentum necessary to keep us interested and involved. We are left feeling like we are stuck in the doldrums.