Public Enemies

Earlier this year, I saw a trailer for a movie I simply had to see. Somebody got the brilliant idea to cast both Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in a good old fashioned cops and robbers shoot-‘em-up. This last Wednesday, Public Enemies premiered and I couldn’t wait to go watch it. About halfway through, when my popcorn and jumbo Coke ran dry, I realized there is one co-star that the casting director should have placed alongside the two superstars; Plot.

Public Enemies follows the infamous bank robber John Dillinger (Depp) in a violent crime spree across the country, and the actions of Melvin Purvis (Bale), the Bureau of Investigation special agent assigned to stop him. The historical backdrop involves the birth of the FBI and the idea of interstate law enforcement. All in all, great fuel for an exciting night at the movies.

Public Enemies has no excuse to be anything but a damn fine film. Director Michael Mann walked in with a great bit of subject material and some incredible star power behind him to get the job done. Indeed, the movie started out strong, with an entertaining jail break followed by the heists and cop chases you’d normally expect from a film of this ilk. The problems come later.

Despite Depp and Bale’s excellent acting, the slow pace of the movie drags it into the mud for about an hour and a half. Few scenes do much to advance a storyline, instead appearing as a random sequence of events that drag along. The sequences that should be interesting possess huge flaws that drain the fun from them. For example, John Dillinger robbing a bank is a great scene. Doing it twice in the span of an hour, with identical means, results, and background music just makes me wonder if Bill Murray hit his alarm clock in the wrong picture. How about a large shootout at a secluded cabin in the woods with over a dozen people blaring away with tommy guns and stolen cars? Great, except for the shaky camera that darts around too fast to see, and the continuous bright flashes in the dark that would make an epileptic nervous at best.

The film quality is good, the acting sharp and the period environment is wonderful. All these things save Public Enemies from the adjective of “unwatchable,” and barely lifting it to “tolerable.” I love a good action movie with lots of gunfire. I like a well done, artistic, soulful action movie with flawed heroes and villains who are at their heart human. I even appreciate good action movies with quirky characters that make me wonder what they’re going to do next or good action movies with historical backgrounds that make me want to learn something about the past. Public Enemies attempts all of these, but doesn’t get the “good” part right.

Between the repetitive scenes, seizure-inducing gunfight, wobbly camera and complete lack of a plot, Public Enemies is only for those who really, really enjoy Johnny Depp or Christian Bale. They’re the only two things about this movie worth seeing. Two stars, and firmly in that range.