Weak leh.
One of Michael Mann's worst action movies by far. Public Enemies
is definitely more sentimental than action. He's either gone soft
or gone loco.
Would've preferred if Purvis (Christian Bale) had more character
play against Dillinger (Johnny Depp) in the sense of cat versus
mouse, cop against robber. There's hardly any battle between the
two. The chemistry between his central characters, felt so clearly
in Heat (Al Pacino & Robert DeNiro), Collateral (Jamie Foxx
& Tom Cruise) is absent. When Purvis and Dillinger came face to
face in the prison cell, the intensity of their confrontation was
so vague and blunt it's forgettable. There's no conflict, no
paradox, no dilemma to follow the gunfire that will rip you apart -
there's no michael mann here. No moral code was compromised.
The plot is too darn thick on Dillinger's gangland romance with
Billie.
I think Michael Mann was going for the public enemy, an anti
hero effect... it didn't quite work out that way for me. John
Dillinger is no damaged angel in this one, he's just too darn
passionate and too full of heavy love problems.
Johnny Depp's demeanor/presence is too gentle for this role.
Russell Crowe or Gerard Butler might've been more suitable.
Also, there's no trace of MM's vision in Public Enemies. Because
of this, the shoot out scenes made little impact. And btw because
of this, the sound of those rifles clicking and gun fire pounding
were less shiok. If you guys enjoyed this one you should've watched
Collateral, Heat, Insider and Miami Vice. Those were great movies.
Even a conversational piece like Insider, filled with dialogue and
ego... a story that was supposed to be super boring was so riveting
under his direction. Public Enemies just pales in comparison.
A bit of a letdown for me though the shoot out scenes are still
passable by MM's standards.
To think I waited 3 years for a michael mann story... sigh...
it's a real pity.
