Good Movie With A Sour Note

Rating: 8/10 (9 July 2009)

I thought this movie was very well acted, shot, directed, and written. Johnny Depp can do no wrong these days it seems. The violence was brutal and Mann did a great job at making the audience sympathetic to Dillinger. For the record, I was not sympathetic, as I am fully aware of Dillinger's violent and murderous actions. He was a monster. Nevertheless, my wife was very sympathetic.
The downside to this film was the horrendous sound mix. It was one of the worst I've ever heard. At first, I thought it was the theater's problem, but once I had the operator change the mix from surround to mono, I realized it was the film's problem. Too bad. I was amazed that the studio let the final print out in that condition. Thumbs down for the sound designer, editors, and producers.
Overall, Public Enemies is a crowd pleaser and enjoyable movie that doesn't glorify the gangsters of that age, but portrays them in a very real and shocking way.