Public Enemies

Year: 2009

Grade: B

Country: USA

Director: Mann

Review

good not great michael mann effort. the dv look is good on the big screen, but probably won’t translate well to blu-ray or hdtv. i liked the camerawork which puts you in the midst of the action. this is a traditional strong point of mann’s and he showcases it here in a different way. the gunshots sound and look realistic and the camera gets behind the guns in a way that really puts you into the shit. so far as i can tell mann does a good job of sticking to the facts of dillinger’s life. he did seem to lose focus at times which led to a longer, more sprawling film. there’s a lot of interesting material that came out of this time and he tries to fit it all in, which was a mistake. depp was decent, though i think colin farrell would have been just as good. cotillard was probably the best in the cast.

Watched in theater