Public Enemies

Alright, I'm gonna come right out and say it: despite all of his proven acting qualities, Christian Bale is flat-out boring in a straight-up "hero" role: give me more of Alfred Borden, Patrick Bateman and Trevor Reznik and less of this dull, Kevin Costner-esque stoicism. Were it not for the high-powered charm and pure star presence of Johnny Depp as infamous serial bank robber John Dillinger, Public Enemies would be a complete snooze despite all the squealing tires and chattering Tommy guns.

Public Enemies traces the fall of Dillinger, and his pursuit by Special Agent Melvin Purvis of the FBI. A lot of this will be familiar enough territory to anyone who knows a little about the history and characters of the Great Depression: what little additional insight we are given here is an explanation of how the extremely popular Dillinger suddenly became a real problem for the all-powerful Chicago crime syndicate. There are also some interesting background scenes detailing the changing role of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, along a few unpleasant interrogation scenes that serve to illustrate the completely ruthless techniques which Hoover's Bureau would become infamous for.
I might have been able to accept such a dull, stony leading man if I could have had some additional back story and interaction with the Texan special agents Purvis employs as the film winds on, but we are told hardly anything about these men and they are given precious little to say. Pity. I realize, as with most superhero movies, that most people are going to see this film for the bad guy, but do we always have to have "good guys" who are simply by-the-book "good guys" and not every bit as charismatic or interesting as the villains?

Speaking of charismatic, Public Enemies always gets right back to being interesting whenever Dillinger is onscreen. It would have been easy for Depp to go all Captain Jack Sparrow with his character since Dillinger is basically the lone wild card in a cast full of straight men, but Depp wisely lets his natural charm do most of the work for him. Portrayed as a kind of dashing, old-school romantic anti-hero (he'll robs banks, but not the customers, for example), Dillinger is mindful of what his adoring public thinks of his exploits, but also unafraid to get his hands bloody when the situation warrants. He also has displays an amazing proclivity for escaping from jail (which is the basis of two of the best scenes in the movie), which incenses the proud Hoover so much that he eventually instructs Purvis to "take the white gloves off" and capture his quarry by any and all means necessary.Since the 1933 setting prohibits lingering shots of garish neon lights gleaming on wet sidewalks, it comes as a bit of a surprise to see Michael Mann's name show up at the beginning of the end credits. Most of Mann's usual stylistic flourishes seem to be muted here, though filming in High Definition video makes for a few strange-looking scenes to eyes so accustomed to standard film. More irritating (though only occasionally employed) is that jittery documentary-styled "you are there" camerawork, the effects of which seem especially pronounced in HD.

For a day-off summer movie matinee, I was entertained enough by Public Enemies, and it certainly looks to be of significantly higher quality than its July 4 competition. That said, the recent benchmark for these period crime movies remains The Untouchables, a movie that so brilliantly sums up the genre as a whole that you can't help but compare and contrast while watching this one. Public Enemies is a movie that tries hard, but ultimately falls into the vast, unremarkable summer wasteland of "been there, done that."

Public Enemies rating: 3/5