Decent yet uninspired

Rating: 7/10 (26 July 2009)

Sadly, the hype generated for this film and the chance to have Depp and Bale go at each other in a deadly game of cat and mouse fell short of the mark. Three things kept this film on a short leash, teasing the audience but never fully delivering.
1) Camera work. I have noticed a trend in the film industry to film action with shaky, quick-cutting camera work. I understand it is intended to give the audience the same sense of chaos that the characters are feeling, but I find it distracting and just pure sloppiness. What was worse was that the "shaky camera" was use throughout the film even when there was no action to speak of. I absolutely despise this "style" (I use the term loosely) of camera work. Couldn't the studio have spent a few dollars more for a still camera set a vastly improve the quality of the film? Speaking of quality of film: 2) "Digital film quality." A film that is supposed to be set in the 1930's certainly lost its appeal when it feels like it was filmed with a digital camcorder. The "digital" quality of the film made the movie feel unrealistic and out of place with the gritty world of the Great Depression.
3) Lack of connection to characters. Given the last two problems I've discussed and adding to it the style of story telling, you feel absolutely no connection or sympathy for either Dillinger or Purvis. Its almost as if the director said, "Here is Dillinger...here is Purvis...this happened...this happened....the end." And this unemotional story is dragged out for over 2 hours.
Sadly, it has the potential of being a great film but will ultimately become just another one of the hundreds of films that are released each year and will disappear into film history.