I didn’t think I’d have much difficulty recalling what happened in Public Enemies. Normally, I try to write these reviews directly after watching the movie, so I can get my raw thoughts about it jotted down instantly. I decided to wait this time around, typing this up the following morning. And I can’t remember much about the film–not a good sign.
It’s an even stranger occurrence, because I did quite enjoy myself while watching the film. It was entertaining, action-packed, and had good actors playing interesting roles. That’s practically all that I wanted from it, and it delivered. So, why am I struggling to remember it in the morning?
I think one of the reasons was because of how much information there is to take in while watching Public Enemies. There is a lot of things going on and a lot of things you have to take note of, even though the plot itself is fairly straightforward. There is a large quantity of facts and events that are jammed into the 143 minute runtime, and while this means the film rarely gets boring, it also means that keeping track of everything can be a struggle.
At least, I certainly hope this is the reason, and that it isn’t my memory finally failing me badly. Regardless of why it happened, not being a memorable movie is my biggest problem with Public Enemies. I enjoyed the majority of the ride while it was happening, but after I had given it some time, I couldn’t really remember the experience. That kind of sucks, because I was really enjoying Public Enemies.
The plot revolves around two men, one good and one bad. The good character is played by Christian Bale. His name is Melvin Purvis, and he’s a police officer. His task throughout the film is to hunt down a man named John Dillinger, who is played by Johnny Depp. Dillinger is a bank robber–a really good one, as a matter of fact–who is also a decent human being and somewhat of a public hero. He doesn’t steal from customers, and has a good relationship with the common man. He’s also wanted by most law enforcement agencies in America, “Dead or dead”.
So, yes, Dillinger robs banks. Rather efficiently too, apparently being able to go through an entire bank in “1 minute, 40 seconds, flat”. That’s quite impressive, and we do get to see his skills in action a few times throughout the movie. Unfortunately, every bank robbery feels the same. The first one is really exciting; we aren’t sure what’s going on yet. Then we watch him pull off the robbery masterfully, without any issues whatsoever. Over the course of the film, the actual robbery part happens a couple of more times, and it almost feels like they used the same footage from the first one, only actually having differences in the ending of the theft. They feel like carbon-copies of one another for the most part, without any creativity exhibited on any of the following robberies.
The other action-oriented scenes consist of large-scale shootouts from the police and Dillinger’s friends. These are loud and exciting, waking up any audience members who decided to fall asleep during the quieter parts. They are exciting beyond all belief, and certainly a strength of director Michael Mann. It is sometimes distracting how obvious it is that the guns aren’t actually firing though. It is easily apparent, even for people not looking for it, that the guns aren’t firing, with the added in “gunfire” effects not looking all that realistic.
The acting is probably the best part of the film, particularly on the part of Johnny Depp. He brings Dillinger to life, having certain cockiness to him, while also being elegant and a real gentleman. Even though he’s a criminal, we want to cheer for him, almost solely because of how great Depp is in the role. Bale plays more of a supporting role, getting far less screen time, but does his job well too. He gets the less showboating role, but seems content to just stay in the background for most of the film.
Public Enemies is a film I enjoyed at the time–quite a lot as a matter of fact–but a day later was one that I had difficulty remembering. Certain parts remained clear, but the production as a whole was foggy at best. Maybe that speaks to the film’s quality, maybe it doesn’t, I’m not sure. The acting was great, the action sequences were fun and loud, and the plot was kept about as basic as it could be. I got more or less what I expected out of the film, and was happy with its conclusion. In fact, because of how much I enjoyed it, I think I’ll give it another watch quite soon, something that rarely happens with me.