Public Enemies (2009)

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The Feds try to take down notorious American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s.

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Directed By: Michael Mann

Written By: Michael Mann, Ronan Bennett, Ann Biderman

Starring: Johnny Depp, Stephen Lang, Stephen Dorff, Marion Cotillard, Stephen Graham, Giovanni Ribisi, Christian Bale, Matt Craven, Billy Crudup, Shawn Hatosy, Rory Cochrane, Carey Mulligan

Genres: Drama, Crime, Action, History, Biography

Country: Japan, USA

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Public Enemies belongs to 39 collections

1. IMDB Top 250 (collaborative: moderated by ppinocchio - 123 stars)

2. AAA: Empire's five star movies (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 24 stars)

3. IMDb Top 250 Complete (collaborative: moderated by Jorg - 23 stars)

4. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 19 stars)

5. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 13 stars)

6. True crime (collaborative: moderated by djross - 11 stars)

7. Mafia (collaborative: moderated by mpowell - 9 stars)

8. Epic (collaborative - 8 stars)

9. Biographical (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 7 stars)

10. Jazz (collaborative: moderated by paulofilmo - 6 stars)

11. List: Taschen (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 6 stars)

12. Gangster (collaborative: moderated by djross - 5 stars)

13. 1930s period film (collaborative: moderated by djross - 5 stars)

14. Top 3000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 5 stars)

15. Cinemascope (collaborative - 3 stars)

16. All-Time Worldwide Box Office over $200,000,000 (collaborative: moderated by QuickyAPI - 3 stars)

17. Top 1000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 3 stars)

18. Great Depression (collaborative: moderated by Hailey - 2 stars)

19. FBI (collaborative: moderated by livelove - 2 stars)

20. Top 2000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 2 stars)

21. Chicago (collaborative: moderated by djross - 1 star)

22. Eligible for Academy Award Best Picture 2009 (collaborative: moderated by Ross - 1 star)

23. Digital cinematography (collaborative: moderated by Alex Watkins - 1 star)

24. film puanlamalarım (collaborative - 1 star)

25. Netflix instant LATAM (collaborative: moderated by Roman_Herbom - 1 star)

26. Netflix Sverige (collaborative: moderated by Jakobostgren - 1 star)

27. Pickpocket inaccurate PSI (public: Pickpocket - 1 star)

28. Blank Check with Griffin & David (public: TychoCelchuu - 1 star)

29. Netflix (public: TonyS. - 1 star)

30. John Dillinger (collaborative: moderated by djross)

31. 2009 US Theatrical (collaborative: moderated by DrBroel)

32. Ratings (collaborative: moderated by cheapthrills)

33. Movies I Saw in Theaters (public: theficionado)

34. deeveedee (public: medium123)

35. My DVDs (public: Kavu)

36. Big-time Hollywood gangster movies (public: djross)

37. 2009: Year in Review (public: polanski28)

38. REWATCH (public: AFlickering)

39. Luna6ix saw in theaters (public: Luna6ix)

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TCI | Percentile | Date Rated | # Stars (Reviews)

Stars	User	Rating
9	Mentaculus	58 _32nd
Gangster Films 101: Guy does bad things, bad guy not so bad, bad guy falls for good woman, good woman makes bad guy become more humane and personable, good bad guy gets killed by bad good guys. Pathos. Gangster Films 130: Some good moments (read: gunfights), but Mann's digital camerawork detracts from character intimacy. Bale furrows his brow. Depp tries, Crudup succeeds. Audience looks bored despite body count.
8	Pickpocket	0 _4th
Total snooze and a huge letdown. Plus you add in a horrible script that consists of this: rob a bank, get caught, break out (repeat) - then die. Most of the shots are just horrible handycam close ups of Bale or Depp. Mann, can you learn how to purchase a fucking tripod you idiot?
5	Farzan	65 _54th
"Heat" in the 1930's? No, not at all. And thats what I was axpecting. Instead of having Pacino and De Niro, they had this generations 'big stars' Depp and Bale, and they delivered, but the film did not. The film did have some high points, namely the gunfights, and, well... the gunfights. I really liked seeing Depp as someone normal (if you can call Dillinger Normal). Worth seeing, I know if you haven't seen it, your expecting a lot, but you won't get much.
5	Tripwyre	59 _41st
Mann's obsession with realism is becoming detrimental to his storytelling abilities. It adds intensity to gunfights, but detracts from just about everything else. The pacing is awkward, and the film just feels impersonal. You don't get to know any of the characters other than what can be gleaned from the performances, and while I like both Depp and Bale very much, that's not a whole lot. The digital photography alternates between grainy and gorgeous. Overall I liked the movie, but it's flawed. [Full Review]
5	hellsditch	67 _16th
Lots of lessons to be learned about squandered opportunities here. I couldn't imagine this being anything less than great given Depp, Bale and Mann's involvement, and yet...it is. If you're going to see this for Bale, don't even bother. He's barely in it, and his presence doesn't register at all. I'm sure he was handsomely compensated for his work. What a waste. I was also astounded at how little is revealed about Dillinger himself. He's a "hero" to the people. Well...why? It's never explained.
5	Bmunise	90 _38th
Johnny Depp is obviously his normal, well-acted self, but the costuming, set dressings, and foley work are the real stars here. The orchestra needs to shut the hell up, Marion Cotillard ruins her performance by speaking half her lines in a distinct French accent, and the cameramen were obviously five-year-olds because professional cameramen don't have rickets and turn Wisconsin into the pitching and rolling mid-Atlantic.
5	chemtrails	50 _38th
Alright
4	Kojiless	38 _39th
The sad tale of a misunderstood modern-day Robin Hood who loved dancing and going to the movies, only stole from evil banks, and kindly missed any Federal agents he shot at--leading to the coining of the age-old adage: "guns don't kill people, the other guys in my gang do so you don't have to feel bad about sympathizing with my character for the 140-minute run-time."
4	Jeb	62 _42nd
Johnny Depp is normal, which is to say altruistically adroit and adept. Bale continues to frustrate and disgruntle however and Cotillard's spoken French accent is annoying to say the least. The camerawork is opulent and regal and the set conformation is divine. Its preference and fidelity in recapitulation is precise and this is an average Crime film that doesn't think to highly of itself which makes it watchable.
4	brandt64	60 _32nd
An unambitious and not particularly entertaining crime drama that we've all seen a million times before, and done better. Depp's performance is forgettable, Bale just stands around with that cool gaze of his (like always), and the overall impact of the storytelling is lacking and leaves a lot to be desired. I would also comment on how the music is awkward and doesn't fit the mood of the movie, but then I ask myself...what mood?
3	Coolkow19	65 _23rd
Michale Mann did something amazing here. He managed to make a 2 hour and 15 minute movie feel like its 5 hours long. This movie takes forever to go anywhere and nothing is really explained. I really did not like this movie at all. I'm only giving it this score because the gun fights were entertaining, though few and far between.
3	doctor7	75 _62nd
If you're expecting Heat set in the 1930's I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed. While Depp and Bale are really good their characters, or rather Bale's character, feel incomplete. I think the movie could've greatly benefited from an additional 15-30 minutes to properly flesh out all the characters in it that seem interesting but never really get enough screen time. On a more personal note I'm glad digital film is starting to look better but there are still some ugly shots in this.
3	djross	40 _26th
Although it follows the story of John Dillinger, it seems that the filmmakers are more interested in pursuing the history of the FBI and the development of forensic technique. Characterisation is very enigmatic, dialogue tends to be poor, and the whole suffers from a kind of lifelessness. In spite of the medium-scale action setpieces, the film seems almost static, and to possess a leaden quality dragging the audience down with the film. Nevertheless, some sequences manage to be effective.
3	cowfrappe	43 _11th
Who would have thought that a movie starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale and directed by Michael Mann could be so interminably boring despite its constant frantic editing and nauseating, unnecessary hand-held, home-movie cinematography? Not even an excellent performance by Cotillard can save this from less-than-mediocre.
3	MJVmovieMan	73 _60th
Most certainly has two things going for it. Johnny Depp is superb in the role. He plays it up even when he's not given dramatic scenes to shine in. Michael Mann adds to Depp's talent. The director cooks up shootouts with great intensity. Even if the movie isn't as involving as I would like, it's about as good as Ridley Scott's 'American Gangster.' Michael Mann misses greatness here, but this is good stuff, just not great and far better than his last outing with 'Miami Vice.'
3	theficionado	50 _48th
With a name like Public Enemies, I was hoping for an analogue to The Assassination of Jesse James. The Purvis character is whitewashed (surprisingly, considering it's revealed he leaves the FBI after his triumph and commits suicide thereafter), and the rest of it simply seems inert for long stretches. A few great scenes, though: among them, the last stand of Baby Face Nelson and a moment where Dillinger, phantom-like, walks through a police department dedicated to his capture.
3	Koalafish	60 _30th
All the characters were flat and not very interesting. Stil this could have been a good movie without the cheap TV look, which destroyed most of the atmosphere. Some might disagree ;-) , but all the indoor scenes and especially the shootout looked like crap.
3	jstry	60 _42nd
I wasn't too crazy about this one. I felt like more time was spent on shooting loud guns than developing the story. Funny that everyone mentioned the loud/bizarre music because while I was watching it, I was thinking "what the...?' Parts of the story were hard to believe and left me wondering "did that REALLY happen??" It was a constant loop of catching him and watching him escape without digging much deeper. Bale wasn't given the chance to do much, which was as big a disappointment as any.
3	DavidBlast	40 _28th
Michael Mann's fetish for DV has gone to a place where I cannot follow, and while I saw the whole thing, I was too distracted to offer insights into any other aspect of the movie. As a huge Mann-fan I am very worried by this. Michael, if you're reading, consider this review your intervention: You're on the wrong track, and you're hurting me. Get help please - do it for us!
3	waddayanuts	88 _96th
Pure Michael Mann. Only he can pull a film like this off. Its shaky digital camera style and intentionally sloppy sound editing mixed with the production value of an epic Hollywood blockbuster makes for a very original aesthetic. And yes, in many ways it may merely be a reproduction of Heat, story-wise at least, but a Mann film is not about story - it's all atmosphere, style and set pieces. And boy, are these action set pieces great! We're talking Heat-stuff here.
2	DavidKahane	37 _15th
Mann usually gives only cursory attention to the ideas he introduces. Instead it's largely a set of interlocking set pieces. As usual, Mann's movie is all surface, no insight. With nothing to really dig into, the actors barely register. Only Cotillard seems to value the notion of playing an actual person, with hints of something recognizable as emotion. She wrenches a couple of truer moments into the film. When a film is as controlled and monotonous as this, every breath of humanity helps.
2	x-human	72 _35th
How can a gangster film staring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale be so dull, lifeless and just plain tedious? Dialog was unintelligible, and I'm from the Midwest. Marion Cotillard was uninspiring and Leelee Sobieski was underutilized. Not bad but not recommended either.
2	cagedwisdom	75 _65th
A mixed bag, but the good kind, where most everything is so enjoyable you don't mind the odd crap lying around within. Simply toss it aside, enjoy what's left (because it's great), revel in Depp's stellar acting and in a year where most the summer action flicks have proven to be major duds know that your ticket money was well spent.
2	Ytadel	2 _14th
Grainy, home video-looking handheld digital video and 1930s gangster period piece do NOT mesh.
2	CHIMP	44 _9th
Fairly underwhelming emphasis of Michael Mann's limitations as a director. The DV works only for the immediacy of the shootout sequences, which we knew Mann can do. Depp is the only actor given much to work with, and even then just manages to lurch awkwardly between the occasional good scene rather than a consistent drive of tension. Stephen Graham and Billy Crudup are the only supporting characters lent much distinction. I wonder if Bale's character was intended to be catatonically depressed.
2	parcaliham	30 _7th
17 temmz 09. flynn. salon6& gotum gibi.
2	rob	11 _51st
This had so much potential; it's a shame all of it is wasted. The pacing is awful: the film stutters and starts, building tension that goes nowhere as the paper-thin plot crumples. The camera work is atrocious, frequently and frustratingly switching to what seemed to be a Parkinson's sufferer operating a camcorder. The character development is non-existent, the score ill-fitting... It's so disappointing, because this cast and this crew could, and should, have produced something so much better.
2	TedDedon	57 _25th
Weak, typical biopic period piece. Want to see a good gangster movie? Watch The Godfather.
2	frederic_g54	4 _14th
Terrible script and the whole thing looks like it was shot on a DV camera. Cotillard kinda saves this film. Bale needs to make 'Reign of Fire 2'...
2	Icarus	85 _79th
Michael Mann's latest film looks and feels a lot like a Michael Mann film. Shot in digital with a highly mobile camera, Public Enemies seems more a subjective and introspective human drama than an epic tale of the gangsters versus the government. No doubt it incorporates the latter, but Mann's muscular crime-drama abstracts the plot in favor of cops and criminals that aren't as good, or bad, as they seem. In doing so, he reveals human beings on both sides of the bullets.
2	panzerwolf	65 _46th
With such strong cast, you would think that you would care more for the characters, but in the end you really don't. The cinematography is pretty and the firefights are kick-ass, but the film still falls to that pretty dull mediocrity.
2	moraesfelipe	85 _92nd
Michael Mann delivers a sober film, after the unfortunate Miami Vice. I just didn't like the digital cinematography and camerawork. Not a bit. The visual is good, but not what I was waiting for: something like Road to Perdition.
2	andagh	60 _21st
Astonishingly boring. I want to see that Clark Gable movie now though.
2	WWallce4prez	65 _35th
In my book, this may go down as one of the biggest failures when having so much potential. A story about Dillinger has an inherent "cool factor" and when paired with Mann, Depp, and Bale one would expect a home run no matter the pitch. This did not happen and there are many reasons why: Bland characters, no momentum, poor lighting, bizarre score, and on and on. As a high point, however, the night shoot-out at the cabin had some very impressive shots.
2	canadianor	30 _18th
A whole lot of nothing happens in this movie. John Dillinger likes to rob banks. That's about it. There is so much to examine, but Michael Mann never really dives in. It's all surface. You never really get more than a scene of each point he likes to make about Dillinger. And really, it shouldn't have been about him as much as the genesis of the FBI. That was the most interesting development, and how Dillinger forced their hands, but again, we never really get to sink our teeth into it.
2	omgfridge	5 _43rd
Depp does a solid job as Dillinger as his general presence fits the role while Bale certainly doesn't break any boundaries with his performance and Cotillard held her own with ease. Mann has done better, yes but that didn't make this a bad movie. It was a slick, maybe too fast at times crime drama that had some great gun fights and actually some good use of handy cams.
2	Okkervil	51 _40th
Much of this film is admirable. The settings are brilliant, & visually at least it's great. But this is a flawed movie. Although Depp and Bale do okay, neither excel, with the best performances coming from the support cast (Crudup is supurb) and Mann's direction and storytelling is aimless and loose. Worst of all however is just how impersonal and underdeveloped the characters are in this movie. Not just Dillinger & Purvis, but the whole cast. It's a shame, as this film is a missed oppitunity.
2	Stripy	49 _8th
I was really looking forward to see this film because of two things: awesome theme and good cast. I was satisfied by those two things, but directing, dialogues and camera are really disappointing. The film is to static, there are moments when nothing is actually happening, no one talking and no music. One thing I should mention: awesome gun fighting effects! Bottom line: Mann probably shouldn't have directed it
2	Paxton	46 _15th
Producer: Hey! You guys want to dress up and play cops and gangsters? Cast: I guess.
1	Moribunny	30 _15th
The script is stale and extremely clichéd with the mandatory sympathetic bad guys and mean good guys, the entirely by-the-book heist/jailbreak/mediawhoring scenes, and the cheesy romantic subplot. Johnny Depp, while adorable and talented, is not quite as versatile as modern directors imagine him to be and doesn't work as Dillinger. Christian Bale is unsurprisingly as terrible as always. The film is shot with a jittery handheld digital camera pandering to a contemporary fad.
1	TheDenizen	65 _51st
Underwhelming drama and the three leads (Depp, Bale, Cotillard) all leave much to be desired. Some excellent work from the supporting cast (loved Stephen Graham as Babyface), though, and this film is gorgeous to look at. Sets, costumes, cinematography etc are superb. However, the music was mixed way too loud, and it feels about 20 minutes too long.
1	Kavu	44 _20th
Decent story, a great cast and a horrible job by Michael Mann. The pacing is bad and the cinematography just makes everything confusing and boring even mid-gunfight.
1	cruelclown	70 _53rd
gorgeously shot in hi-def digital, except the close up and the action scenes which had some ghosting. beautiful sets and costumes. so-so acting. bad script, no character development.
1	FlorVdE	1 _18th
Well made but none of the characters are fleshed out and the story offers little more than "bad guy running from the cops", which often makes you feel like you're looking at a bunch of generic gansters firing shotguns at eachother. Depp brings his usual charm to the role, but not much else. A wasted opportunity.
1	nutcrackr	70 _38th
Lavishly boring. Starts so terribly slowly and the gun fights are seemingly devoid of any life. Although it does repair itself from the poor start it doesn't quite overcome it's early pitfalls. Some occasional laughs to be had, but not nearly enough.
1	evrana	66 _38th
It started off quite promising, but then dragged into a pointless hunt. Aside from the musical score everything was just mediocre. When you base your story on real events this is just what happens sometimes.
1	Radres	70 _47th
It's a well known story. Unfortunately everything you see in the movie has done before and if i may add, mostly in a better fashion. As Michael Mann on the helm you would kinda think this is exactly that kind of stuff that Michael Mann could create a masterpiece from and after watching it i thought he underperformed. I mean this guy directed Heat, Collateral and Public Enemies comes nowhere near to them.
1	mullacc	55 _27th
Gorgeous film, especially the stylish gangster costumes. Depp and Bale both give good, sparse performances. But the story and the characters never really go anywhere, and yet it managed to go on and on. It was waaaay too long. The text epilogues were totally cheap--the script did not earn the emotional punch that is the fate of Purvis.
1	Bojangles	60 _61st
Not a smooth movie; it's dirty, sloppy, and shaky. Its digital visuals make it seem as though the happenings somehow exist in reality, and not in an 'ugly home camcorder movie' kind of way (see: Bamboozled, Inland Empire) It's a new look. The story is boilerplate yet worthwhile; although, it kind of does feel a bit like a big elaborate excuse for Mr. Mann to film some antique cars and guns.
1	Mini-T	86 _73rd
Liked it. The very impressive and beautifull wide shots in perfect HD Quality are a treat for the eye. Johnny Depp did an great job playing Dillinger, and he makes Dillinger a character you care for. The storytelling seemed a bit strange. But the gunfights are impressive. Great camerawork with some nice close-ups.
1	shahness	40 _12th
Boring, bland, and terrible looking. Depp and Bale phone it in, and Mann (like with Miami Vice) saddles the film with an unnecessary, unemotional love story. The storytelling has no coherence and neither does the action (which is surprising, considering Heat has one of the best shootouts ever filmed, and Miami Vice had some solid action). Skip.
1	dsaos	75 _36th
For such an amazing credit reel, this movie sure disappointed.
1	nandorizzi	75 _71st
Good movie. The direction of Michael Mann is excellent, very classy. Although that should develop more and better the character of Christian Bale, who would give momentum that the film lacks.
1	Duder	50 _12th
Bad writing, awfull shooting, so so acting.. What has gotten into Mann? I was so shocked when the movie ended that i couldn't talk. Bale's character wasn't in the first draft obviously, they just wrote some lines for him to tell, such a useless character.. Very dissappointing.. One comes to think of Heat..
1	muutanet	59 _48th
I was not much intrested of the theme as much as I was to see Bale and Depp toe to toe. There was okay scenes but basically the story was a big disappointment. The pacing of the movie was horrible. As was the part of Bale.
1	BillyShears	50 _21st
Hey Michael Mann don't use my dad's camera next time.
1	sengir	76 _26th
An interesting storyline and strong lead by Depp ruined by absolutely terrible digital cinematography, with rushed ugly shot following rushed ugly shot. A missed opportunity for Michael Mann.
1	andayb	50 _27th
the script is quite poor, filled with underdeveloped characters, and overglorified criminals. cinematography is also subpar, digital camera artifacts really diminish the visuals. Bale's badly cast, and his role poorly written, turned into a drone of a detective, whose character was just too confusing. the movie is quite a let down in every aspect.
1	evansjoy	83 _42nd
Eh... it was OK. As much as I love seeing Johnny Depp and Chicago landmarks in films, I found myself falling asleep a little. The film handled a story with a familiar ending pretty well, but the characters and relationships were undeveloped. The digital footage was a bit jarring at points.
1	Luna6ix	72 _41st
Slightly flat, the camera work seems amateurish, but the overall story is watchable and and interesting enough. The best part of this movie is the gunshot wounds which are pretty gruesome, maybe two hours of gunshots would have made this a cult classic.
1	whatismyname	65 _63rd
Felt I've seen this movie already, it was French and the title was Mesrine. Yeah, it has some fancy shooting, but no real character development or engaging story. Depp was wonderful, Bale, for the first time in recent memory, wasn't.
1	jameskey	65 _29th
3/8/9 - Pretty standard gangster film. Bale is very wooden, Depp and most of the smaller parts very well played. Found the camerawork very distracting and the lighting was often poor - several shots in the indoor scene seemed to have the light colour change dramatically.
1	Obdurate	75 _52nd
Suffered from some of the things that plagued Miami Vice, though not to that extreme (I'm talking of some awkward edits). The DV mostly works but there are a couple shots where it sticks out like a sore thumb. But the movie generally entertains, has some interesting gunfights (but somewhat repetitive), has great acting from Depp especially, and looks absolutely beautiful most of the time. Some scenes, like the chase in the forest have amazing cinematography.
1	Rye Bread	60 _46th
Slightly boring.
1	NathanDarko	90 _79th
Set in the early 30's Mann tells the true story of John Dillinger, former Public Enemy No1 and his squad.Riddled bodies, perfect filmed shootouts and a very good cast make Public Enemies worth to watch.
1	Monster	90 _85th
Bem parecido (ao menos a narrativa), com Heat (Fogo contra Fogo), temos aqui Depp/De Niro como o bandido carismático que se fode por um grande amor, sendo perseguido por Bale/Pacino interpretando o policial implacável que não irá descansar enquanto não "capturar" o bandido. Destaque para as cenas de ação(tiroteios) e as mortes causadas pela personagem de Bale, além da ótima utilização da "camera na mão" dando um close filhadamãe no rosto dos atores em algumas cenas em que a tensão domina a tela.
1	Kalmah7	62 _22nd
A decent film that is aided immeasurably by Depp. Cotillard helps a good deal as well, but Bale, unfortunately, has little to do here. Has some of the most jarring, annoying, and worst use of music in recent memory. Completely takes you out of the film.
1	stevemoser	75 _20th
shaky camera work almost made me sick
1	Pepsi-Man	1 _11th
Total horseshit. I don't know what happened to Michael Mann after Collateral, but there's absolutely nothing in this film that's remotely compelling or engaging. Johnny Depp is flat and Christian Bale is his usual terrible self. I had similar problems with Miami Vice, but Miami Vice was saved by the fact that it looked really incredible, visually. Public Enemies doesn't even have that going for it.
1	pompousass	20 _44th
John Dillinger revamped for a new century, more particularly Michael Mann-handled: high-def video, flattened perspective, eye-crossing closeups, jittery hand-held camera, frenetic cutting, amped-up sound, and the legendary Lady in Red is now (truth be told, among much romanticizing) the lady in orange skirt and white blouse.
1	nauru	38 _28th
Hard to care about any of the characters in this one, and there is very little actual story telling here. Lots of boring repetition. Christian Bale is once again cast in a role that he has no business doing. He is in way too many movies these days despite being a rather mediocre actor who generally plays the same character with that same annoying voice over and over. Basically if you want to see a movie about depression era bank robbers go watch Bonnie and Clyde. There is no substitute.
1	JohnSandwich	80 _84th
Rewatchehed, score bumped. Much better than I remembered. Don't really like Johnny Depp in it tho idk.
1	Myszatek	66 _36th
Surprisingly boring with the same scenes over and over again. No chemistry between characters. No emotions. Disappointing.
1	snowgray	55 _32nd
Bale's Melvin Purvis would have made a much more interesting main character than Dillinger, and the movie suffers from wavering between focusing on both men and trying to set up similarities between them. Also, the HD cinematography doesn't look good: it resembles a bad British soap opera shot on video more than a modern movie. ETA: The book is pretty thorough, though it focuses more on the time period overall than it does on Dillinger. A truer adaptation would be welcome!
1	mertz109	80 _22nd
Disappointing. I like Johnny Depp, but this movie just left me with no feeling of connection to the characters. I was hoping for a movie like Goodfellas or American Gangster. After only two days, the only memory I have of this movie is that a lot of tommy-guns were fired. I wanted it to be a great movie. I would have settled for a decent movie. What I got: a totally, 100% unmemorable shallow, superficial movie. Bummer.
1	foxforcefive	85 _31st
Not the action filled gangster movie I was expecting, but still very fulfilling. The action that we saw was executed perfectly by mr. mann. Some of the close ups he used on the characters were awesome. As a fan of history, It was also super interesting to see how the FBI began. Depp makes the perfect John Dillinger, adding depth to the role. I found myself rooting for the criminals from the perfectly staged beginning to the extremely suspenseful end.
1	Rolad	50 _15th
Perhaps there was a good film in Public Enemies, but it is lost in the poor camera work and bad sound editing. A difficult film to enjoy.
1	ZayanK	58 _25th
Completely dead, from beginning to end.
1	SirStuckey	65 _45th
The script and editing weren't done very well. I sat through a 2h 15m movie and I don't think I was really given much. The script is repetitive, the random use of shaky-cam was distracting, and every other character besides Bale's and Depp's lacked any depth. Depp does give a good performance though and the gun fights were fun. It's OK, but nothing I'll ever watch again.
1	_Pierre_	80 _53rd
Good acting and nice storyline but nothing to be very impressed by.
1	Poseur117	55 _15th
I hate Michael Mann's "gritty" digital film making style. It looks grainy and shitty. Also, this movie was marketed all wrong. I went to the midnight showing expecting lots of action, and instead got a lot of something else.
1	billkerwin	70 _14th
Emotional hollowness partially obscured by dazzling technique. In other words, the usual Michael Mann film.
1	l0venjak	19 _12th
Yo Johnny! Imma really happy for you, and imma let u finish, but Uwe Boll films one of the worst videos of all time! ALL TIME! Well, he surely has no luck. Id rather burn my eyebrows than watch that crap again.
1	tinysausage	67 _33rd
Curiously forgettable, despite the strong team. The gritty locations shot in HD don't quite look right.
1	Kubrick Jr.	55 _18th
A well filmed movie. The acting is alright and the cinematography is quite odd and many close ups. The story is good but it drags on forever, the film does have a tendency to tell us details we don't need to know. It goes all over the place too. Under developed and boring characters but the ending is quite good but not like the last 3 minutes, that was bad. Anyway all in all it is alright nothing spectacular.
1	guy piranha	45 _17th
Michael Mann...Michael Mann oh Mann. What the fuck, Mann?

Average Percentile 43.68% from 5461 Ratings