Public Enemies has a lot going for it: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Michael Mann and old school shoot-outs with Tommy Guns and olde timey cars. But for some reason, it never quite elevates itself into ‘awesome movie’ status. It often feels muted, messy and confused.

The film kicks off in 1933 and tells the story of real life crook John Dillinger (Depp) a bank robber with a heart of gold, who is all jaunty hats and gentlemanly gestures.

Dillinger and his stick-it-to-the-man-attitude is seen as something of a rock star among the general public and this pisses off J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) enormously. So Hoover forms the Federal Bureau of Investigation to put a stop to Dillinger’s antics, and brings in Agent Melvin Purvis (Bale) to head up the task force.

Meanwhile, Dillinger has swept a young cloakroom attendant named Billie (Marion Cotillard) off her feet, and drags the sweet young thing into a nation-wide game of cat and mouse with the Feds.

While the film looks spectacular and does a great job of evoking the depression era of 1930s America, it’s largely unsatisfying. Depp’s character is fairly one-dimensional, and while he has an enormous amount of screen time, he doesn’t really get the chance to bust out much of that Johnny Depp screen magic.
 
According to numerous reports, Depp actually stopped talking to director Michael Mann on the set of the film because of his “chaotic” directing style. You get a sense of this when watching the film – Depp seems to be struggling to get the most out of his character. The script also lets him down a bit - there’s very little explanation of why Dillinger is the way he is, or how he got into the stick-up game, and this makes for a slightly frustrating film.

Christian Bale is excellent as Purvis but again, it doesn’t feel like he’s really getting the chance to fully flex his acting chops*. The real standout is Billy Crudup, who dazzles in the fairly small role of J. Edgar Hoover and Marion Cotillard, who manages the fine balance of vulnerability and chutzpah with flair.
 
Fundamentally, this film is confusing. So many gangsters are introduced along the way in dramatic clouds of gunsmoke, only to disappear shortly after – as an audience member you spend much of your time desperately trying to keep track of who is who. I like the way FilmDrunk put it; “don’t expect to know who’s shooting at whom or why”.

I’m the first to acknowledge that I’m probably being a little tough on this film. It does have some fine performances and scenes, but from such an excellent cast and production team you expect greatness. At the end of the day, this is a good gangster film with plenty of shoot-outs, car chases and pretty ladies, but it’s just that. Nothing more.

*I’m fairly sure I’ve messed that saying up. Feel free to correct me.

Public Enemies opens in cinemas today.
You can view the Public Enemies movie trailer here on TheVine.