Public Enemies

Movie Man Mike provides a new movie review

Public Enemies (B). For a two-and-a-half-hour film, I wouldn't expect to find myself wanting more when it was over, but I did want more. Maybe not more footage, but more story. Backstory, to be precise. This is the story of John Dillinger, who is played by Johnny Depp. The action in this film is solid. The film is loaded with big-name actors, but it's the background of the characters depicted that's missing. You don't get much of a sense of the characters' history, motivation, or personality from the portions of the stories told. Also, I didn't get a good feel for how much time the story occurred over, whether it was a matter of months or years. One weakness in my view was Christian Bale's character. Bale plays FBI Agent Melvin Purvis, whose job it is to hunt down Dillinger. Unfortunately, Bale seems to be stuck in "Batman" mode. He's still got that whispered growl he used as the caped crusader. I'm not sure what's up with that. Anyway, the film was entertaining, but one that I wished I had waited to see as a rental.