Public Enemies

I hate to do this to Mann, but I just can't rate higher this time. His Public Enemies is a stylish and very appealing film on the outside, but inside it’s desperately underdeveloped and unremarkable, passing only out of inertia and the memories of the great Heat, which is on a much higher level both in content and form, as it relies on a better script and can lean on De Niro and Pacino, whose personal rivalry is the strongest motif of the story. And that's what's sorely lacking here, because Christian Bale, however charismatic and convincing, is sidelined at the expense of Depp's gangster, who plays first fiddle and sets the pace of the story. The long runtime is also a bit of a problem, Mann uses it to create the right period atmosphere and to precisely outline the relationship between Depp and Cotillard, but it slows down the narrative and, something that’s especially noticeable, fails to establish a stronger relationship between the viewer and the main characters, so that we ultimately don't know who to root for. That said, the shootouts and the action sequences are excellent, Mann is at home there and no one can compete with him, as well as the musical score, the authentic cinematography and an the emotionally charged ending that at least partially redeems the reputation. After Heat I expected a lot, but I don't think it's possible to repeat such a film. 70% (02/07/2013)

On the one hand, the digital camera (I don't get it, but by the end I got used to it), the drawn-out plot and several historical inaccuracies, on the other hand, the perfect actors and especially the actress, the excellently filmed shootouts, very suspenseful scenes and Goldenthal's magical music. Public Enemies is good, even very good, but it’s not perfect. If Michael Mann had wanted to make something like Heat from the 1930s (and he probably did, given how sympathetically or unsympathetically Dillinger and Purvis are portrayed), he didn't succeed. But nobody expected that anyway, did they? (03/12/2013)

Mann continues where he left off with Miami Vice – in raw and unadorned filmmaking, in which there is sharp sound and naturalistic image of a digital camera. He once again helps himself wonderfully with music that gives the sequences a gradient and atmosphere. Unfortunately, the intention to make a 1930s version of Heat failed due to the script, and because of Christian Bale. I don't know who is to more blame, but Depp's thug is the main character, and the sleek man of the law is absolutely unable to handle any problems or ambiguities. It’s all about John Dillinger, and Michael Mann, with his foppish and gentleman-like nature, pays tribute to all of the mustachioed gangster melodramas from the past. It works great, including the ending. The motif of Dillinger as the last representative of gallant robbers, which is destroyed by an inconspicuous mafia racketeering, brings a certain depth to the film. For two and a half hours, Public Enemies kept me entertained, because Depp and Cotillard work well together, and Mann is able to dive right into the middle of the events. But there is something magical missing – in this case the poignant tension between law and crime, good and evil. Dillinger and Purvis are both far too unambiguous to form as explosive a pair as Hanna and McAuley. (07/01/2009)

Miami Heat in the thirties where the first half is rather slow (even for Mann) but the second half more than makes up for this in genius. Production design? Pricey. Atmosphere? Such that money can’t buy. P.S.: If you ever read King’s short story “The Death of Jack Hamilton", you’ll have come across similar characters. (07/02/2009)

A "Michael Mann film" with everything there is to love and hate about it. It's probably going to have a hard time getting through the movie theaters, judging by the reaction of the Johnny Depp fans sitting next to me when I was sitting in there, but it's a hot contender for the title of "film of the year." (07/10/2009)