Movie Mini-Review: Public Enemies

All in all, "Public Enemies" is pretty good.  Considering the talent involved in making the film, it should have been great.  Directed by Michael Mann and starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, this film just does not seem to try hard enough.  I would rate it a B.  The acting by Johnny Depp is fine, as he seems to portray John Dillinger as a man who just lives in the moment and generally does not plan ahead.  On the other hand, Christian Bale's character, Melvin Purvis, seems to be an empty cipher.  Considering the blurb at the end of the film depicting his fate, it seems that there was more to his character than was portrayed in the film.  Stephen Lang, as another law enforcement officer, gets a little more character than Purvis.  Marion Cotillard (even while struggling to maintain an American accent) does a fine job as Dillinger's girlfriend, although I was not sure how she transformed into a bit of a criminal moll at the end of the movie. The cinematography was good, as were the action sequences.  That's usually what Michael Mann excels at.  Characters like J. Edgar Hoover (played by Billy Crudup) and Frank Nitti (played by Bill Camp) seemed to float in and out of the story without really having a strong influence.  Like the "Star Trek" movie earlier this summer, I had higher expectations for this film.  While it was still good, I was hoping for better.