The bullets miss as often as the rest of it...

Rating: 6/10 (8 May 2020)

This is a stunningly good looking movie about the battle between organised crime and the emerging FBI in the USA in the 1930s. Johnny Depp is the charismatic Robin Hood style bank robber John Dillinger who has escaped from prison and embarks on a crime spree that makes the authorities look hapless. J Edgar Hoover drafts in Christian Bale to lead the Chicago office and stop Dillinger at all costs. The film now proceeds to depict the long, very long, relentless game of frequently publicly-fought cat and mouse game between them; with plenty more bank robberies; protracted gun battles and, occasionally some style. Depp and Bale are rarely on screen together and the rest of the supporting cast; except, maybe Marion Cotillard - really don't pull together ands the story quickly becomes repetitive and really quite dull. Depp carries off his part well, raising his character from the reputed thug to someone who did care for his loved ones, and who certainly had a more benevolent side. There has been a considerable degree of effort put into the costumes, cars and general aesthetic of the film, but given we all already know what happens at the end it just isn't enough to keep it interesting for 140 minutes!