Plot:
It's the early 30's, The Great Depression Era, and crime is rampant with John Dillinger (Depp) and his gang at the very tip of the crimewave. With their ability to rob a bank in quicksilver speed, it makes them that much more elusive that FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (Crudup) assigns a special task force called G Men lead by Melvin Purvis (Bale) that are to hunt Dillinger labeled 'Public Enemy # 1' and his gang down by any means necessary. But with John's quick wits he is able to stay a few steps ahead of the G Men until he falls for the beautiful Billy Frechette (Cotillard), who has such an affect on him that rather than move on when the heat is thick, he stays around trying to figure a way to spring her after she was captured and used as bait against him.
Reel Talk:
This film has all the makings for a great movie: gangster theme, stellar cast and a great director. So what happened??? It was a slow and dulling depiction of a dashing bank robber. Sure Depp provides charm to the role but not flare and the unconvincing accents used throughout the movie by Bale and Crupup were more silly than anything else. Bale as Purvis was just plain boring, they could have taken his gun and let him kill the bad guys with boredom. There are a few action shoot out scenes, with the ones with Baby Face Nelson (Graham) standing out particularly. Even Academy Award winner Cotillard couldn't pull a rabbit out the hat for this one. If you don't mind a watered down Untouchables than you might enjoy this attempt at a gangster movie.
Starring: Johnny Depp, Marion Cotillard, Christian Bale, Stephen Dorff, Billy Crudup and Giovanni Ribisi
Directed by: Michael Mann
Rated: R
I give it 2 and a half eaten corn dogs
By: Corndog - The Reel Hustler
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