Well done telling of a historic crime figure. It entertains and holds interest with good support by blasts and blazing gunfire.

Rating: 8/10 (4 July 2009)

Michael Mann who is one of the best film directors around as by evidenced with his crime genre films, really scores big here with his latest as "Public Enemies" is an informative and historical blasting and blazing gunfire thrill ride from start to finish. This film is blended with enough action and your traditional bad guy against good theme to make it a must see for any film fan and the acting and chemistry between the characters which features some of the best working in film today like Depp, Cotillard and Bale make it even much more of a treat.
Set in the 1930's Midwest during the great depression the film starts off rather heavy as criminal John Dillinger(played wonderful by Johny Depp)burst out of an Indiana jail and right away becomes a dangerous and brazen bank robber of the 1930's depression era as one by one he's robbing banks and breaking out of jails. This sparks the justice system and federal law enforcement to create new methods and ways to fight crime as their jurisdiction will reach from state to state and a new most wanted list is created from the agency head J. Edgar Hoover. You guessed it the most wanted enemy number one is John Dillinger. Now enter some drama and conflict as the film was good to show during the bureau's early days not all was agreed on in legal methods and searches plus even arranging chase teams were debated. All this would come from hotshot and by the book special agent Melvin Purvis(Christian Bale)who would come to final terms with Dillinger in Chicago in 1934.
As you see from bank robbery to bank robbery including jail escapes John Dillinger is cool, calm, calculated, and cocky the movie shows him as such an interesting character which is helped by Depp's elegant and effortlessly cut performance. As many of these gunfires scenes are so well liked for the way Mann shot them still thru it all this film celebrates the criminal as a pop culture phenomenon for the way it shows him in many scenes. Along the way as with any bad guy Dillinger meets a love interest really the wild card of the film that being a lady named Billie(Marion Cotillard who's sexy)and they romance along the chase path when not busy taking money yet it still leads to unexpected crazy love.
Really this is a measured film that entertains in such a traditional way of the classic good guy against bad guy with plenty of support from blazing gunfire it's such a traditional feel good film. As the setting of the 1930's and it's actual taking of place helps. Still the way director Mann made this crime drama makes it an interesting watch not only is it a fun action drama to watch it's a good historical film that shows the early FBI roots and it profiles one of the first and earliest criminals the country ever had. You as a viewer really would cheer for the Dillinger character as it showcases and shows him in such a stylish way. Seriously "Public Enemies" is one of the better action crime dramas that's been made in a long time a real winner due to it's direction and for the fact that it showed a lot of historical information to many that didn't know. And most of all Johhnny floats and sails above everyone with his memorable and very good performance as a legendary American criminal figure.