Public Enemies movie review from modmove

LAPDANCE LARRY

SEVENTIES SIMON

PHOTOGRAPHY

COMIC ART

INTERVIEWS

Sub-menu 1.2.1.1

FESTIVALS

EXHIBITIONS

Public Enemies
Two tinsel-town heavyweights meet in depression era America to play with guns, fast cars and girls. Johnny Depp and Michael Mann continue to add to their resumes of interesting material with Public Enemies, a film based on the life of career criminal John Dillinger.

Most of Michael Mann’s films trade harsh reality for a stylish look and atmospheric feel and Public Enemies is no exception. This time out however, some of his filmmaking quirks draw too much attention to themselves. The constant jump from HD video to film and overabundance of hand-held shots is distracting and the almost complete lack of back-story on Dillinger’s life takes away from some of the film’s appeal.

What is there however is a lot of fun and getting to see Depp in the period correct cars and clothes being a badass is very cool as are the action scenes that crackle with energy and menace. Of special note is a sound mix that really gets the power of the large bore weapons across. The sound of large caliber bullets striking the trees that are being used for cover is very effective in getting across the sense of mortal danger.

The criminal drama has always been a Hollywood staple and this film adds a footnote or two to the genres’ lexicon. While the film does have some good moments and Depp makes his usual positive impression, the standard of excellence reached by the pinnacle of films in this category is not really attained.
Rob Hudson
www.publicenemies.net

Public Enemies Movie Trailer


also featured
NEW COMPETITIONS! The Grey Competition Thanks to Icon Film Distribution, we have ten double in-season tickets to give away to The Grey! Read more >> Shame How do you connect with the disconnected? Read more >> Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a characteristically British film. Read more >> The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo The best thing about this American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is that this is Fincher's version of Dragon Tattoo. Read more >> Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol After cutting his teeth on Pixar's The Incredibles, Brad Bird applies his ample talent and requisite enthusiasm for spy thrillers to live action in this, the latest installment in the foundering Mission: Impossible franchise. Read more >> Boxing Day Bash The annual Boxing Day movie feast presents Hollywood approaching the season’s end like it was a big fairy tale wedding with something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. Read more >> Puss in Boots When a franchise runs out of steam there is always the spin-off. Read more >> Attack the Block The alien invasion genre has been hit particularly hard of late with the likes of Cloverfield, District 13, Battle: Los Angeles and Aliens vs Cowboys, each one more mediocre than the last and culminating in the downright awful Skyline. So kudos to director, Joe Cornish, for at least trying something a little different. Read more >> Immortals As eye candy, Immortals ticks all the right boxes. Read more >> In Time In Time is a competent action/thriller in the Hollywood mould but coming from director, Andrew Niccol, who also wrote and directed Gattaca and wrote The Truman Show, it is disappointingly light. Read more >> Moneyball First the conundrum, I love baseball movies but don’t especially like the game itself and would never even entertain the thought of actually watching an entire game. Read more >>


Stay up to date with modmove news
about modmove
What to know how we got started? Read more >>
read the modmove blog
Check out all the random stuff that didn't make it to the website! Read more >>
contact Us
If you have any queries or if you would like more information about modmove, we would love to hear from you! Read more >>
join our mailing list
subscribe to the mailing list and receive the modmove newsletter. Full Name Email Address Enter Word Verification in box below
search
search modmove for previous news and reviews.