A huge disappointment

Rating: 3/10 (4 July 2009)

I have been waiting weeks for this movie to come out, finally seeing it last night. It did not live up to my hopes at all.
The characters are one dimensional. We never get any insight into what motivates Dillinger and his crew, apart from money. The supporting cast has little material with which to distinguish themselves - all the members of Dillinger's gang are basically interchangeable men with guns. One highlight is the character of Billie - she draws a lot of sympathy and the audience can feel her desire to get her and John away from this lifestyle.
Aside from a brief mention in the opening titles, the suffocating poverty of the great depression is never seen. The depression provided the context for these outlaws and why the public embraced them as folk heroes, leaving it out of this film is a serious oversight.
**SPOILERS BELOW**
Another big problem are the historical inaccuracies, which - if more true to the source material, would have enhanced this movie greatly.
Dillinger's breakout from the Indiana jail is well-paced and a great scene in the film, but Mann neglected to reveal the greatest real life detail of all - the "gun" John used to take his initial hostages was made of wood.
In reality, the shootout at Little Bohemia was brief, and all the gangsters successfully escaped. It was a huge embarrassment for the FBI, who lost one of their agents and killed several innocent civilians and Purvis nearly resigned because of the fallout.
There is plenty of material in Dillinger's life from which a fantastic movie can be made. Regrettably, this is not that movie.