A Greatest Hits version of the life of John Dillinger.

Rating: 7/10 (5 June 2010)

I really wish Johnny Depp would play "normal" guys like this more often. His acting talent is more apparent when he's in a role that's not defined by eccentricity. The guy made a fine Dillinger, I must admit.
Public Enemies breezes through the more interesting parts of Dillinger's criminal career, without getting bogged down in any origins or psychological justification for his behavior. He was just a man who liked fast money and the things that came along with it. This isn't a historically precise, complex character study, it's just an entertaining romanticization of a very notorious man.
Along with Depp, you have a plethora of talent actors and actresses who are either in love with Dillinger, helping him, or trying to bring him down. This is a seriously impressive cast, from headliners like Cotillard and Bale, to small but appreciated cameos from Emilie de Ravin and Carey Mulligan. There's a great actor everywhere you look, in Public Enemies. That's one of the many things to like about the movie. It brings the "summer blockbuster" feel to a genre that isn't normally associated with that idea, and it does it well.