Michael Mann was handed an interesting script, or at least an interesting idea. Then Mann chased down Johnny Depp and Christian Bale to play the lead roles. Now mind you Mann is the guy who brought us "Thief" in 1981, which isn't a great movie, but just a notch below that. Mann also gave us "Last of the Mohicans" in 1992, then "Heat" in 1995, and "The Aviator" and "Collateral" in 2004. So, with this in mind, how could this film have taken a turn in the wrong direction? I'll tell you why, Mann's brain is missing. Mann, since filming "Collateral" in 2004, brought us 3 terrible flops. Giving us "Miami Vice", "The Kingdom", and "Hancock". Hollywood directors seem to take a nose dive at some aged point in their lives, and 2004 started Mann's downward spiral. In so many of Mann's films, he is able to attract talent, which is a third of the real requirement for a solid film. The story and directing ability would make up the rest. So, its my opinion that somewhere in these 3 elements, there were major flaws.
Johnny Depp gave one of his most mediocre performances of his career. He put on a cement face, never changed it once, read his lines, and went home. Who would have thought a great character actor wouldn't bring more than mediocrity to the table? Well, then we have Christian Bale. Bale didn't really have too much to work with, he played his part. If Bale were to exhaust any additional talents for this film, he would have appeared to be an over-actor. Bale's screen time didn't feel like very much either, felt like a waste of talent. Everyone else in the film did their part, but not many people gave more than mediocre performances.
The story in "Public Enemies" could have been made good. It has so many of the right elements to be exciting already, bank robbers, guns, a good era, and guns. The guns in the movie were good, everything felt real about them, unlike so many other Shmollywood films. The era presented, the 1930's, was done pretty well. I don't think we explored enough of the life in the 1930's to really feel the legitimacy of it all, but it at least tricks you for 2 hours. The bank robbing in the film... just terrible. This is supposed to be one of the most notorious bank robbers of all time, and I feel like he may have robbed a single bank in his criminal career. Nothing told me John Dillinger (Depp) was a bigger mastermind than a New York pickpocket.
Michael freaking Mann, what he needs to do is re-prioritize what he needs to do in making a film. He seems like a perfectionist in the way he shoots every shot, but you can't just use good techniques to film a garbage can and make us think it doesn't smell. He shoots what feels like should be a 5 hour film, in what feels like 10 minutes. Scenes and times skip around so fast, we are little informed. Go back to the chalkboard.
"Public Enemies"
6 / 10
