I thought it was a decent film. Well actually I was kind of disappointed. I thought that this film would be as good as Mann's other film, Collateral.

The performance was good (from Depp as expected) and the script was okay, but the editing and cinematography could have been better. There are points in the film where the sound (dialogue especially) is quite muffled. Judging by the camera shots, I'm guessing Michael Mann was kind of going more for a realistic, documentary feel with the shaky cam (pet peeve of mine) and inconsistent framerate. Then again, some of the overdramatic deaths go against the "realistic" approach.

For a film that also involves catching a most wanted criminal, I thought there would be more suspense and tension. There is some, but I never really felt like I was at the edge of my seat compared to another somewhat similar movie such as American Gangster. Character development is also lacking a bit with Bale's character and Dillinger's gang members.

Oh and of course Batman ends up catching Jack Sparrow in the end. Ever notice how Christian Bale's characters almost always succeed when he has time to plan?

So what do the rest of you think of the movie?

I haven't seen this, but is it just a coincidence that a gangster film came out in 1931 called The Public Enemy (which I have seen), and they're both set around the same time and involve crime?

dammnit well im not watching it anymore

guess ill just watch bruno this sumer

Hmmm... I've not seen it yet, but since you're saying you didn't like Michael Mann's cinematography and editing, I can only come to one of two conclusions:

1. We have dramatically different taste in those areas.

2. The Michael Mann I love is dead and has been replaced by an evil Michael Mann.

Also, you could have referenced some of his other (better) movies. The Insider, Heat, The Last of the Mohicans, Manhunter, Thief, and Ali are all better than Collateral.


And I also hope you do know it's... well... kind of a true story. If you didn't know what was going to happen in the end I don't know what to tell you... The story of John Dillinger is kinda famous.

yep it's kinda famous and carries with it a message... never trust a ho

Yeah she claims to wanna see a movie... *****.

Dillinger and others were called the "Public Enemies" - I even think that The Public Enemy has some notice in the beginning before the movie plays out about that. And in the film Babyface Nelson does an impression of Cagney from that film so it all isn't that surprising.



The movie was hit and miss for me. The cinematography was really weird at times and definitely took me out of the movie (i.e. the shootout in the hotel ), but other scenes I felt were done quite well (e.g. the jailbreak in the middle and the end scene . The movie felt like a period version of Heat, but without the gravitas added by Pacino or DeNiro. As for ranking it among my favorite Mann films, The Insider still tops the list, but I wouldn't rank Public Enemies anywhere near the bottom.