Reel To Reel: Public Enemies

You are completely surrounded by gunfire!

Going Rate: Not more than matinee price. Waiting for the DVD won't hurt.
Starring: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale
Rated: R
Red Flags: Intense and copious machine gun shooting, some blood, some language

Notorious gangster John Dillinger (Depp) thought he was smarter than the cops. He had a point, having escaped from prison at least twice and either slipping away from the law or blasting his way out. But his power stemmed from organization: knowing who to hang with, how to plan, and how to execute -- in more ways than one. His FBI pursuer, Agent Melvin Purvis (Bale), had guns, guys, and guts, but his agency was just beginning to plug into the advanced techniques of crimefighting.

Public Enemies is the contest between the lawbreaker and the law, one where director Michael Mann gets to remake his 1995 movie Heat, including the explosve automatic-weapons gunfight. Watching that scene alone justified the ticket price. Mann forgot to fix some of the earlier film's problems, however, notably some disjointed scenes and droopy dialogue. The picture spends too much time talking and not enough time shooting or explaining how a notorious bank robber became such a folk hero. It also omits several major details or gums up others, like Dillinger's arrest in Tucson after a fire at the Hotel Congress. Even the hotel in the film isn't Hotel Congress.

Don't take anything away from Depp. He does his best with limited material, showing some depth and gangster charm along with a gritty sensibility. Dillinger had several relationships with "dolls," but the movie focuses on his time with Evelyn "Billie" Frechette (Marion Cotillard). Johnny's running and gunning leaves them without a place to settle down, but Billie can't resist a guy who takes her out of her coat-check job and into a richer, if dangerous, lifestyle.

You can sum up the rest of the film as nothing special: gangsters talking business save for the two breakout scenes. Watching Dillinger sneak out of a fortified Illinois lockup is one of the movie's high points, as is a running gunbattle in the third act of the picture hyphenated by the rat-a-tat-tatting of Thompson submachine guns. We know they're deadly, but they're oh so fun to watch.