Public Enemies

Directed and written by Michael Mann, Universal Pictures, 2009. Starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard.

Genre: Biography, Crime, Mystery, Drama, Thriller.

WOW! I am speechless. This might be the one of the worst movies I have seen in a long time. I usually adore Johnny Depp, and Christian Bale has made some pretty fantastic movies as well, but Public Enemies was not rescued by their talent or good looks.

I don’t even want to go into what I didn’t like about this movie because I am still upset that I sat through the whole thing. However, I will tell you the 100 million dollar budget must have gone into paying for the all the side characters who performed in this movie but who normally have larger roles (but it certainly didn’t go in to the script): Giovanni Ribisi, Leelee Sobieski, Emile Di Ravine, Channing Tatum, Carey Mulligan, Stephen Dorff, Lili Taylor, and Billy Crudup. Some of them had one word lines to perhaps a paragraph or two. Not sure why they wasted the talent.

Favorite thing about the movie: The credits.

Least favorite thing about the movie: the dialogue when Johnny Depp (John Dillinger) spoke to Marion Cotillard’s character. It sounded like it came from bad Hallmark motivational cards.

Possibility of a sequel?: I hope not.

Did the preview ruin it?: No, in fact, I remember seeing the preview and thinking “that looks good!”

Rating: R

Length: 140 minutes

Review: 2 out of 10