Michael Mann is Public Enemy Number One
Written: Jul 02 '09 (Updated Jul 03 '09)
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Dry Humor and Bank Robberies
Cons: Boring and Disappointing
The Bottom Line: I was extremely disappointed by this film, it has it's moments but overall it is not worth it.
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| konerkid's Full Review: Public Enemies |
I really try and avoid movies that I know will be disappointments. I really had high hopes for Public Enemies, with a great cast led by Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. The film details the height and the death of John Dillinger, one of greatest gangsters that ever lived. Knowing that the film would be bank robberies, who could be a better choice of director then Michael Mann? The man that revolutionized shootouts in the smash hit Heat. But over the years I have become skeptical of Mann's ability to perform as a director, trying to cut and slice and reinvent action sequences.
The overall effect of which destroyed this film. Not only did the actors under perform, but also the momentum of the film died after the first bank robbery. The script was poorly done, which was also the demise of Mann as well. I had a lot of respect for Mann after watching Heat, which I was 6 when it originally came out but he basically made the shoot out his thing. After Miami Vice I became very skeptical of where his vision was heading, being a director myself, I hate to see such talent melt away over the years.
I give the whole crew an applause for trying to resurrect the genre of 30s crime. This film is definitely not as spectacular as it is shown in the trailer. I was expecting a long line of action and fire right through this movie. I was sadly mistaken, especially after the comedy dries out before the first hour is out the film tries to take a whack at the romantic aspect of Dillinger's life. This film is far from a thriller and tried to become an action drama, which is not what you are looking for when you think of bank robberies and Dillinger.
I feel like the script needed to be acted better, especially between the three biggest stars in the film, Johnny Depp, Chrisitan Bale and Marion Cotillard. The most interesting part is the character of Red played Jason Clarke was the best acted role in the film other than Johnny Depp. The movie was just missing passion, a lack of something that I cannot explain. Maybe between the splicing in of raw footage and the crickets chirping around I was unable to see the true vision of Public Enemies.
I don't want this to be a complete buzz killer moment. The film has its moments, although short and sweet but that alone cannot carry a film. I am a great fan of Depp's and feel like he brought whit and dry humor to the table, he did the role he was supposed to, but this is not a movie I would recommend. The most disappointing part of writing this was that I had great hopes for Public Enemies, I really did, I was happy to see Michael Mann direct another bank robbery movie, I was expecting a real bang, but I was wrong. I was highly disappointed by this film.
Recommended:
No
Movie Mood: Action Movie
Viewing Method: Studio Screening/Premiere
Film Completeness: A few glitches, but mostly complete.
Worst Part of this Film: Pacing
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Epinions.com ID:
konerkid
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Location: Saint Paul, MN, USA
Reviews written: 18
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Film Student, Director, Writer, Love Film.
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