On a recent segment of "Late Show with David Letterman" featuring guest Johnny Depp, the title host somewhat snarkily commented that "You really get your money's worth in terms of muzzle flash" regarding the star's latest film, "Public Enemies." Not only is that an accurate assessment, but also an expected one, for two distinct reasons.
The most obvious is that it's about John Dillinger, the legendary and notorious 1930s criminal who became something of a celebrity during the "public enemy" era -- that also featured the likes of Baby Face Nelson, Bonnie and Clyde, and Ma Barker -- due to his string of bank robberies and a reputation as something of a modern day Robin Hood during the Depression when banks weren't exactly popular institutions (sound familiar?).
Then there's the fact that the offering comes from the hands of writer/director Michael Mann who's previously shown he knows a thing or two about guns and staging related battles in films such as "Collateral," "Miami Vice" and most famously, "Heat." Interestingly enough, his latest effort -- which he adapted from Bryan Burrough's book "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34" with fellow screenwriters Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman -- is strikingly similar in basic underlying plot to that latter 1995 film.
Both feature ruthless but proficient criminals and the lawmen who are after them, even if direct interaction between the two sorts of characters is brief in both pics. In "Heat," however, the one civil exchange between those played by Robert De Niro and Al Pacino is simply electrifying, equal to but comprised entirely of a different sort of intensity as the amazing gun battle sequences.
The non-shooting exchange here also features two good actors (Depp and Christian Bale) at a pivotal point in the story. Yet, it's nowhere near as exhilarating, not only because audiences aren't salivating to see those two play off each other (not having wracked up as many years of experience and public good will as their predecessors, thus building up the anticipation of that moment), but also because the overall film in which they appear isn't as good.
It's not bad by any means -- except for Mann's apparent refusal to give up his digital handheld camera and thus subject viewers to the equivalent of watching the film on the high seas -- but it simply doesn't posses the same sort of testosterone-fueled intensity and bravado that made the filmmaker's earlier effort something of a classic in the action genre.
Matters of historical accuracy or not aside (I usually don't care unless I'm personally vested in a particular person or event), the film simply isn't as entertaining let alone as gripping as it should be. While Depp is good, his performance is often drowned out by the frequent hail of bullets, meaning his non-violent moments with other criminals (such as played by Jason Clarke) or his lover (Marion Cotillard) don't register as much as they probably could have.
Bale is left high and dry in his one-note pursuer character, especially in the shadow of Billy Crudup doing a larger than life impersonation of J. Edgar Hoover. Various other performers (Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Dorff, Channing Tatum, Shawn Hatosy, Lili Taylor, Leelee Sobieski, etc.) either have just small parts and/or are barely recognizable, but don't make much of an impression either way.
Instead, Mann and company simply execute a repetitive plan of having Dillinger and his men rob a bank and then get involved in a shootout, escape from prison and get involved in a shootout, or have the Feds move in on him and, yes, you guessed it, the bullets start flying.
The only interesting subtext among all of the flying ammo is the juxtaposition of Dillinger and his sort vs. the FBI (and the growing infringement of civil liberties on the part of them trying to get their man via primitive wiretapping, torture and such) as to which is the true "public enemy" (hence the title). Yet, that's far from subtle, and the interesting historical makeover of the Bureau of Investigation (under Hoover's eye that would eventually turn into the FBI and then segue from gangsters to communists) needs a better treatment, as does Dillinger and his exploits, than is offered here.
If you're like Dave and appreciate a high quantity of muzzle flash, you might walk away from this Tommy gun extravaganza fairly satisfied. On the other hand, if you quickly tire of repetition and having shootouts intimidate the drama into little more than glorified superficiality, you may just feel a bit letdown, especially if you're expecting "the Mann" to bring the "Heat" once again. Not horrible but clearly far from what some critics are saying is one of the best films of the year, "Public Enemies" rates as a 5 out of 10.
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