Now Rating: Public Enemies
Jeff Mason
Issue date: 7/1/09 Section: A&E
Not helping things is the movie's indecisiveness in genre. It seems split between being a character story following Dillinger or telling the story of the birth of the FBI through the destruction of the celebrity bank robber. Neither story line feels dominant and it creates a conflict, misguiding the movie as it goes along.
Depp, who would have easily been able to carry such a character drama, often feels stale, but his honey pie Billie feels the same way. Depp and Cotillard are both talented actors, so it's hard to believe that either one would have a mediocre performance. Instead, I have to believe Mann is to blame for the wooden feeling I get, even when the dialogue seems to be spot on.
Bale, once again, is typecast as the quiet, but diligent crime fighter. Despite getting about a third of the screen time as Depp, his character feels deeper and more relatable than Dillinger. His pursuit of Dillinger is frustrating and often results in FBI casualties, but his persistence easily becomes the most interesting part of the movie.
"Public Enemies" manages to be entertaining when it switches to its host of gunfights, almost always involving both Depp and Bale. They aren't incredible, but have enough juice behind them to carry your interest for a while. It is also easy to lose track of who is who beyond the main actors. I went through almost the entire movie without knowing who Baby Face Nelson was.
Much like it must have seemed to track Dillinger in the early 1930s, "Public Enemies" seems to be everywhere at once. As hard as everyone in this movie tries, it couldn't put the pieces together and make the movie how it probably should have been.
2 out of 5
Depp, who would have easily been able to carry such a character drama, often feels stale, but his honey pie Billie feels the same way. Depp and Cotillard are both talented actors, so it's hard to believe that either one would have a mediocre performance. Instead, I have to believe Mann is to blame for the wooden feeling I get, even when the dialogue seems to be spot on.
Bale, once again, is typecast as the quiet, but diligent crime fighter. Despite getting about a third of the screen time as Depp, his character feels deeper and more relatable than Dillinger. His pursuit of Dillinger is frustrating and often results in FBI casualties, but his persistence easily becomes the most interesting part of the movie.
"Public Enemies" manages to be entertaining when it switches to its host of gunfights, almost always involving both Depp and Bale. They aren't incredible, but have enough juice behind them to carry your interest for a while. It is also easy to lose track of who is who beyond the main actors. I went through almost the entire movie without knowing who Baby Face Nelson was.
Much like it must have seemed to track Dillinger in the early 1930s, "Public Enemies" seems to be everywhere at once. As hard as everyone in this movie tries, it couldn't put the pieces together and make the movie how it probably should have been.
2 out of 5
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