Public Enemies

Public Enemies is the incredible and true story of legendary Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger. The charismatic bank robber whose lightning raids made him the number one target of J. Edgar Hoover’s fledgling FBI and its top agent, Melvin Purvis, and a folk hero to much of the downtrodden public.

The first thing I have to say is that Christian Bale is in this film, and he managed not to piss me off for once. That’s a big statement I know but I find any film with him in just start to really grate on me quickly, I think it is because he acts with a voice which is almost a whisper.

So with that in mind we were already 1- 0 up. A little on the long side, the film gives a great insight into the mind and loves of the most wanted man in America. At times it could have been easy for Depp to slip into the comedy villain from his Pirate days but he truly is back to his best in this portrayal, matching this performance with his George Jung in blow.

With cool old school cars and Tommy guns cracking every few minutes the life of a gangster really can appeal when you see films like this. The money involved is crazy, a score of $500 in the depression was a big hit but these guys where taking thousands and hundreds of thousands. Seemingly always ending up with a lose canon in the group, Dillinger gets himself in to some tight spots, but with the grace of Hannibal from the A team he gets out.

You almost have a side story you want to explore deeper with the pressure on the Federal Bureau of Investigation trying get off its feet. A lot of people were against this, especially the criminals, as it leads to national laws so running to the state line was soon to be a thing of the past. So if people’s actions, say robbing a bank, gained support for the FBI, then they were ousted by their own criminal kind.

Get ready for a long sit when you watch it but ultimately it is well worth it.

~Review by Alex