Public Enemies (2009)

Starring: Johnny Depp, Marion Cotillard, & Christian Bale

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The producers of this film would like you to think it is a modern version of the Untouchables, but anyone who has seen this film will tell you it's far from it. It's not that Public Enemies was a bad movies, but a lot of people panned it because they expected a lot more from a 100 million dollar movie, starting Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, and they have a point. The story was flawed right from the beginning because the true story behind it really wasn't that interesting. The filmmakers tried to get people to watch it, by saying that Dillinger and Purvis were comparable to Capone and Ness, but that's not true. In reality, they had almost no interaction with each other and in the movie, whenever they were together, all they did was shoot at each other. There wasn't any chemistry between them, because their supposed rivalry was a fictions element added to an otherwise true story. The film should have focused on infamous bank robber, John Dillinger, but instead it focuses on the FBI hunt for him and his life on the run, long after the bulk of his crimes had been committed. Johnny Depp portrays Dillinger in an attempt to go back to being a legitimate actor instead of a Disney puppet, and he fails miserably. This guy can be one hell of actor, when the role fits his personality, but John Dillinger does not. Depp is an emotionless mess of mumbled lines that almost completely destroy the film. Thankfully, Christian Bale was much better and far more interesting. Public Enemies had big expectations, an all-star cast, and a huge budget, but it turned out to be an average film. That's what had people so upset, because had this been an independent film, they would have been okay with it. The fact that Public Enemies was billed as the next Untouchables, but fails to deliver even a single memorable scene just destroys any credibility the film had going for it.