Public Enemies (2009)

Director: Michael Mann
Writer: Screenplay by Ronan Bennett, Michael Mann & Ann Biderman
Novel "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34" by Bryan Burrough
Cast: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Stephen Dorff, James Russo, Carey Mulligan, Emilie de Ravin, Giovanni Ribisi, Lili Taylor
Genre: Biography, History, Crime, Drama, Thriller

Public Enemies takes us back to the heydays of gangsters with Tommy-guns, telling the story of John Dillinger (Depp), Public Enemy No. 1 and the beginning of FBI. There's a romantic aura about this era, but there was actually very little romantic about it. While the semi-romantic Robin Hood-like notions might have followed the bank robbers of the depression, the results of Tommy-guns spitting led in the streets would soon enough turn the tide.

Michael Mann knows how to tell these crime stories intelligently. Everybody still remembers Heat (1995) as one of the best movies within its genre. He does well here as well, but without walking away from the biographical facts, there's a lack of highlights within the story.

Both Depp and Bale is brilliant as usual, and they are supported by an ensemble cast here. Still. The lack of theatrically stunning scenes helps dull us to sleep with its 140 minutes runtime. I don't deny it's a story worth telling. I just think it's not especially well suited to make a great movie.