Warning: Potential spoilers!

One might suspect when entering the cinema that they're about to witness the rise and fall of the infamous bank robber, sociopath, and all around scumball John Dillinger (played by Johnny Depp). But this plot presumption would be wrong. We see no rise, only the fall. The film begins in September of 1934, Dillinger's first prison break, and follows him until his demise eleven months later. Everything starts going wrong for him, basically, from the beginning of the movie.
John Dillinger likes fast cars, movies, woman, and money. And he's not the type of fellow who is "thinkin' bout tomorrow". That's about all we get about the man. There's no real insight into his past and why he is the way he is, and why he has this obsession with living on the edge. In this universe he's somewhat of an enigma. Some, after seeing the film, might view this lack of character development as grounds for some deserved negative criticism, but I didn't care. He more than makes up for these ambiguities with his humor, charm, and cockiness. Perhaps the real Dillinger was a mystery as well.
Those who are also anticipating a non stop thrill ride of murder, sex, brutal gangster violence, and bank robberies might also be disappointed. Although the highlight for the film, for me, does involve a car chase and a shoot out between cops and robbers, the action is very sparse. Mostly a lot of chit chat between thugs in jail cells, restaurants, and hideouts. The character of Dillinger spends nearly half the film falling for a dame he meets in a club in Chicago. Their ultimate goal is to go away together after Johnny makes his final big score. You already know what's gonna happen, don't ya?
The film looks great though. Obviously a lot of work went into the costumes and sets to make it look like 1930's midwestern America, rural and metropolitan. I read somewhere that they did a lot of the filming for this movie where the real events actually took place. That's always great for authenticity.
Now comes the part where I tell you if I liked the movie or not: yes. I did. Overall, a solid picture. It was entertaining. The 2 hours and 20 minutes flew by without me looking at my watch. Is it an amazing film? Of course not. Very rarely do I ever see, or expect to see, and amazing work of cinema that totally blows me away. I suppose, now, I'm a little cynical when it comes to movies. Especially Hollywood movies.
This picture gives you the basic hollywood gangster movie package: a little action, some drama, decent performances, and a love story. Nothing new under the sun. And that's just fine by me.





Also: since I'm reviewing a biopic about Dillinger I might as well mention another biopic I saw last week about another 2oth century hero to some, and fiend to others: I'm talking about last years Che. Part 1 and 2. If you can handle a four hour movie I'd very much recommend it. I think I actually liked it more than Public Enemies. It was more of an intriguing film, for me, because of the fact I knew close to nothing about it, or its main character, Che Guevara. So there was an element of genuine surprise. Plus, his story is more compelling than the story of Dillinger to me. Benicio Del Toro gives a fine performance, which is important considering the film focuses entirely upon him, plus the visuals and the locations where they shot it were quite beautiful. Check it out if you get the chance.