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WARNING: This review contains mild spoilers

Release: Now showing
Duration: 139 minutes
Rating: MA (strong violence)

Arguably some of the greatest national heroes in history were the bad guys: Ned Kelly, Ho Chi Minh, Genghis Khan. You could debate for hours that their contributions to national image, to national pride, to industrialisation and to unification were so much so that some of their their more unsavory acts were ignored. Probably the best term to describe this kind of person would be an anti hero, yet this doesn’t tend to really pay them the right level of homage. John Dillinger, for many Americans, fits this enigmatic category.

Public Enemies, the most recent movie by Michael Mann (Ali, Heat) begins in 1933, a year when the great depression was in full swing and crime was rife. Dillinger, played by a cool, calm and collected Johnny Depp, plots the breakout of his gang from a maximum security penitentiary where he himself had spent the better part of ten years. Fooling dumb uniforms with hidden weapons and fake handcuffs, the man who will go on to be called Public Enemy Number 1 easily accomplishes his goal. Tommy guns finish off any police resistance and we as the audience take guilty pleasure in seeing the crooks get away.

This is certainly not the last crime that Dillinger commits. Beautifully filmed bank robbery sequences only make us fall even more in love with the felon. His chivalrous way with hostages, often leaving them loosely tied to trees just out of town, strikes a remarkable comparison between Dillinger and Robin Hood. This is further emphasised by the contrast with fellow robber Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham) who tends to let his gun to the talking. But Baby Face does more than just contrast the two styles of gangster; he provides the action and pace. The most entertaining elements of the movie tend not to be the calculated escapes of Dillinger but the Baby Face shoot outs, in particular the night time standoff in the mountains.

As I mentioned, action only seems to ride shot gun in this flick. What the central story of Public Enemies revolves around is the relationship between Dillinger and his love Billie Frechette. From their first meeting in the ballroom of an upmarket hotel there is instant chemistry. He is a blunt man, used to making his dreams a reality. She is a practical girl who has given up on ambition in favour of the plain and simple life. The old saying that opposites attract rings true in this movie.

Billie, played by the gorgeous French actress Marion Cotillard, really captures the essence of what it would feel like to be dating a criminal. There is the constant thrill of the chase, plus the glamour of the criminal lifestyle. But also there is fear for his safety and the reoccurring desire to simply let it all go and settle down. To be honest, Marion provides some class to a role (criminal's wife) which has been blemished by contemporary crime flicks series such as Underbelly and Underbelly 2.

While Dillinger is out robbing banks, the police force is devising ways to catch him. The movie dabbles in the establishment of the FBI with its head, Edgar Hoover, demanding for the establishment of a Federal police force to catch crooks across state borders. Sadly, Hoover’s development is left lacking. Not even a rather drab performance by Watchmen's Billy 'Doctor Manhattan' Crudup as the famous FBI boss can salvage this subplot.

Pervis, the man put in charge of hunting down Dillinger is just as underplayed by Christian Bale. There is nothing particularly likeable about Pervis. He doesn’t appear to have any other interests but his job; he doesn’t have a dashing smile; he doesn’t seem to show any reactions. We can only hope this was intentionally done to ensure that we empathised with Depp’s Dillinger.

The saving grace for the ‘good guys’ is Agent Harold Reinecke played brilliantly by Adam Mucci. He embodies Hoover’s image of the new ruthless police force. He isn’t afraid to use violence, hit women or draw his gun in public. He looks almost like a frustrated fat kid out for revenge, constantly sweating and stressed. You will dislike him incredibly and this is not such a bad thing. At his side is hard faced detective Charles Winstead (Stephen Lang) a man who resembles the book hunting librarian from Seinfeld, though a touch more brutal.

Unlike other other gangster flicks like The Untouchables, this movie doesn’t get overwhelmed by its stars, Depp as Dillinger is a sound choice and certainly doesn’t ham it up ala Deniro’s Al Capone. For Australian film buffs, don’t be fooled by the inclusion of David Wenham on the posters, he doesn’t say a word in the movie. Regular film buffs will note G.I Joe: Rise of Cobra star, Channing Tatum is in the mix as Pretty Boy Floyd, although I think he’s better suited to the action genre.

Public Enemies is not a hot lead filled adrenaline ride. Instead, it’s a polished biographical flick that takes Dillinger’s life and tries to tackle it from all sides, taking perspectives from the police, his lover, his fellow cronies and the public. If your looking for a reason to get your fedora out of the hat box and your pinstripe suit from the cleaners, check out Public Enemies.