Seen it with the lady at the Chicago premiere this past week. Michael Mann also introduced the film, which was cool.

And on to my quick review summary...

IMO, one of the best films I seen this year...with close competition only coming from "Moon" or "Up"

Positives....

-This ain't "Goodfellas" or "The Godfather", but is a very entertaining film that is a notch or two below those classics...along the lines of maybe "Carlito's Way, "Casino", or "King of New York". You may purchase it, catch it on TV, and watch it again every once in awhile, but it won't win all kinds of awards and it won't make any AFI lists...but maybe I'm wrong.

-This is Michael Mann's best film since "Collateral"...maybe his best since "Heat".

-A few classic scenes that will hold up with time...no spoilers. I especially liked the scene in a movie theater involving a movie theater ad that plays.

-The best acting comes from Billy Crudup as "J Edgar Hoover" (deserves a supporting actor nomination) and Stephen Graham as "Baby Face Nelson" (as the sinister and entertainingly kick-ass gangster). Also, I surprisingly liked the work of Marion Gotillard as Dillinger's love interest...she held her own with Depp and the others.

-A lot of great character actors, Chicago actors, and other surprising faces pop up in this film...won't spoil it.

-Great use of the Chicago, Chicago Suburbs, and NW Indiana locations...great set designs. They got the sound and look of the time period down perfectly.

-Great Cinematography and probably Mann's best use of the HD camera since he been using it lately with "Collateral" and "Miami Vice".

-Running at 2 and a half hours, it does not feel like it at all...it moves along rather quickly and does not plod along too much with the romance aspects and such.

-Excellent action set pieces...Mann knows how to do gun battles...you could feel and hear every tommy gun rat-tat-tat and every bullet piercing objects...very loud and was shaking the theater...awesome sound work!!!


Neutral aspects...

-Johnny Depp is charming and suave, but a little too reserved and too cool at times as "John Dillinger"...he just does not come across as intimidating as a ganger. Overall, it is good acting work, but it is not a memorable acting job or gangster character...ala "Tony Montana", "Michael Corleone", or Joe Pesci's "Tommy DeVito"

-Christian Bale has an underdeveloped character to handle in this film as the head of the Chicago FBI division, but does his best with the role. There is no "Batman" growling, but his accent distorts some lines at times, but nothing too distracting. Another decent acting job, but I was expecting better.


Negatives...

-Much could be added to some story lines and other parts could have been left in the editing room...once again, I don't want to spoil too much...but I wanted more added to the story arch about "Frank Nitty" and his crime organization...that might have been a better overall movie than this one.

-One element that really pissed me off...really pissed me off and caused me to shake my head in disgust...one stupid decision to use CGI during one key scene. Trust me, you will know what I speak of once you see it and I expect you all to shake your heads as well. There was no need for it and it could have been pulled off way better without CG and it would not have been costly at all.

Overall...8/10

thanks looking forward to this in the usual summer drought of movie releases.

________________

https://i.imgur.com/ZkkZekl.gif

>-One element that really pissed me off...really pissed me off
>and caused me to shake my head in disgust...one stupid
>decision to use CGI during one key scene. Trust me, you will
>know what I speak of once you see it and I expect you all to
>shake your heads as well. There was no need for it and it
>could have been pulled off way better without CG and it would
>not have been costly at all.

I don't know if its the same scene but in the trailer they show Depp jumping over a railing with a gun in hand & his face looks like it was photoshopped from a video game.

Nah, that's Depp's face in that scene...the HD camera used in this film makes the images look so crisp.

I can't speak on the CGI-used scene, it is too much of a spoiler, but I promise that you'll know when it comes.

Honestly, I might peep this again with the fellas when it hits in July.

>Nah, that's Depp's face in that scene...the HD camera used in
>this film makes the images look so crisp.

The :28 mark right here?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWof6CovHxI

I'ont know mayne. Som'n about that looks sorta iffy to me. But at the same time it doesn't make a whole lotta sense to use CGI for it either. Unless of course Depp just couldn't hack it.

If you're not familiar with Dill, Nelson, Nitti & the like, you might be pretty confused & kinda pissed that Mann just throws you in the mix & you're left to sort it out for yourself.

If you thought the forest scene in Raceformers was dope, compared to the one in Public Enemies it doesn't even cope. The bank jobs left a bit to be desired. But then again this was back in the 30's & not as complex as a bank heist in the 90's like we saw in Heat.

I like Mann the director much better than Mann the writer. Much like Miami Vice, there were too many moments of questionable dialogue that just felt off to me. I'd love to see him focus 100% on directing & let someone like Chris McQuarie write his next crime flick.

The HD looked great for the most part & the cinematography as always was top notch. Solid cast & performances. Great sound design as well.

B+

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8OWNspU_yE

I can't imagine this not being in my top 2 of the year.

Quick Thoughts:

1. There's no better director of action than Mann right now.

2. It was refreshing to see Depp give a restrained performance after all the scenery chewing he's done in the Pirates movies.

3. It really is focusing on these few years of Dillinger's life. It's not really a biopic in the traditional sense. This is a movie about a DRIVEN man only concerned with the present.

4. This might be Mann's best written movie on a level. He's dealing with a multitude of characters and you never feel lost.

5. The shootout in the woods is INCREDIBLE.

6. People who spend the entire fucking movie texting on their enormous bright-ass Iphones really need to stay at home or do it in shit like Transformers.

7. It's Depp's movie through and through but Bale is wonderful.

8. It's about 2.5 hours but it flies by.

Overall, Im giving it an A/A- and want to catch it again

That & the final scene between Marion Cotillard & Stephen Lang

with cgi really REALLY REALLY pissed me off. it was really bad.

the shoot outs were great to be expected, but honestly, as far as character development etc. i didn't have a connection with either depp or bale. like, if some shit happens to them, i really didn't care.

which i think that says something about creating a bond with the cast and audience. it didn't happen for me.

depp is very charming, but a little too charming with one-liners. like everytime he'll say a line i'm waiting for the drum and crash.

it wasn't bad, i just was a little underwhelmed. i know the story behind both dillinger and purvis, but if i didn't i wished i knew more about them.

and also wished they would have shown more of hoover's frustration with purvis etc. crudup did a great job, even though i don't remember hoover being as handsome (no homo).

but yea, it was cool. don't think it's his best movie since 'heat' or 'the insider' (which is prolly a top 2 movie from mann).

but good.

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Pros:
Depp as Dillinger-- charismatic movie star made me care
Sound design-- the shootout in the forest was sensational in particular
Cinematography-- gorgeous, great feel
Costumes/sets-- I never once felt out of period, even with the digital camera blurring
Pacing-- movie moves quickly for being 2:20 or so

Cons:
Bale as Purvis-- miscast to some degree, he was going for understated in order to subtly deliver Purvis's quiet fears and insecurities, and for me it didn't work. Both Fatboy and the special agent at the end gave better cop performances... they needed a Vincent Hanna to Depp's Neil McCauley and they didn't get one
Character development-- a little underwhelming, plus some of the gangsters got mixed up for me at times
Comparison to Heat-- in terms of narrative and theme, I felt it paralleled Heat in a lot of ways, and since I saw Heat last night, I couldn't help but think how this flick wasn't quite up to that level

More later, those are my initial thoughts.

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Fatboy kinda stole tha few scenes he was in.. He was beatin tha shit outta Billie.

yupyupyupyupyupyupyupyupyupyupyupyupyupyup

I just came back from the screening and completly didnt catch tha CGI moment you referenced..

Great movie btw.

yupyupyupyupyupyupyupyupyupyupyupyupyupyup

i threw my hands in the air when he finally died
just cause I was glad to get out of the theatre.

what made me angriest was how disconnected and repetitive everything was.
had it been 30-45 minutes shorter maybe I wouldn't have been so upset,
but as it was i didn't understand why i had to see similar things repeated.

that said,
some of the visuals were good
(especially when he goes to indiana)
so there were some redeeming qualities.

<----

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I enjoyed the movie, but was not thrilled about it. Kinda of an American Gangter vibe, two great actors with a strong cast, but feel a little short over all. Deep, and Crudup were very good, Bale was ok.

Good movie but forgettable.

I get really disconnected from a films with these ensemble casts of b actors. I spend half the movie trying to figure out where I have seen the actors before. Like the guy who played Babyface, and the foriegn chick.

>I get really disconnected from a films with these ensemble
>casts of b actors. I spend half the movie trying to figure out
>where I have seen the actors before. Like the guy who played
>Babyface, and the foriegn chick.

i'm guessing the cgi you are talking about is when depp gets shot...? it was noticeable for sure, but i didn't think it was *that* bad. but considering it was a mann film, i would think his cgi would be a bit better. they should have just used good ol' fashioned special effects.

overall, i'd say anyone complaining about character development probably just doesn't like michael mann. he's one of my favorite directors, and probably my favorite out of those who are still alive and making movies. i think the character development was about par for the course as far as mann flicks go, excluding 'the insider.' character development really isn't his strong suit.

i thought the movie started off very slow, but picked up about 45 minutes in. after that i was hooked. the shootout was amazing, and the sound in that scene was top notch.

overall, a great movie, but nowhere near mann's best. 'the insider', 'manhunter', 'last of the mohicans', 'heat', and, yes, 'miami vice' are all better, IMO. speaking of 'heat', it's interesting to compare the parallels between that and 'public enemies'.

entertained the whole time.

>-A few classic scenes that will hold up with time...no
>spoilers. I especially liked the scene in a movie theater
>involving a movie theater ad that plays.

this was dope.

>-The best acting comes from Billy Crudup as "J Edgar Hoover"
>(deserves a supporting actor nomination) and Stephen Graham as
>"Baby Face Nelson" (as the sinister and entertainingly
>kick-ass gangster). Also, I surprisingly liked the work of
>Marion Gotillard as Dillinger's love interest...she held her
>own with Depp and the others.

he was good. but didn't come off as gay enough.

>-Great use of the Chicago, Chicago Suburbs, and NW Indiana
>locations...great set designs. They got the sound and look of
>the time period down perfectly.

i loved this. It was great picking out the shooting locations downtown. Still dont' know where that apartment was.

>-Running at 2 and a half hours, it does not feel like it at
>all...it moves along rather quickly and does not plod along
>too much with the romance aspects and such.

I forget where it was but there was a point where it lagged but that was over quickly.

>-Excellent action set pieces...Mann knows how to do gun
>battles...you could feel and hear every tommy gun rat-tat-tat
>and every bullet piercing objects...very loud and was shaking
>the theater...awesome sound work!!!

dude them rifle shots. they sounded like shotguns. The holes they left were scary.

>Neutral aspects...
>
>-Johnny Depp is charming and suave, but a little too reserved
>and too cool at times as "John Dillinger"...he just does not
>come across as intimidating as a ganger. Overall, it is good
>acting work, but it is not a memorable acting job or gangster
>character...ala "Tony Montana", "Michael Corleone", or Joe
>Pesci's "Tommy DeVito"

I think this was intentional in that Dillinger wasn't the cold hearted killer that many of his compatriots were (namely Nelson, I think.) and this was shown several times through out the film.

>-Christian Bale has an underdeveloped character to handle in
>this film as the head of the Chicago FBI division, but does
>his best with the role. There is no "Batman" growling, but
>his accent distorts some lines at times, but nothing too
>distracting. Another decent acting job, but I was expecting
>better.

for what he was given....he did a good job.

>Negatives...
>
>-Much could be added to some story lines and other parts could
>have been left in the editing room...once again, I don't want
>to spoil too much...but I wanted more added to the story arch
>about "Frank Nitty" and his crime organization...that might
>have been a better overall movie than this one.

I think the Bookie scene cleared that whole part up.

>-One element that really pissed me off...really pissed me off
>and caused me to shake my head in disgust...one stupid
>decision to use CGI during one key scene. Trust me, you will
>know what I speak of once you see it and I expect you all to
>shake your heads as well. There was no need for it and it
>could have been pulled off way better without CG and it would
>not have been costly at all.

I actually liked it. Over the top..yes. But I still liked it.

>Overall...8/10
>
>

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I have two conflicts dealing with this movie.

One. The earliest showing was at 11pm and I had been up since 4am for work, so i dozed off twice during the movie, but didnt miss much.

Two. Not hating, but why did they focus on John Dillenger's love life so much????? The man wasnt known for sweeping ladies off of their feet, he was known for robbing banks and fucking shit up in the 1930's. Now dont get me wrong, somewhere in there he did a whole lot of fucking, but, you dont make the movie 55% that. I wanted more action and grittier acting. See Depp go there, like he did in Blow, but angrier and nastier. Maybe, Depp wasnt the best person for the job, or maybe not. All im saying is that they should of focused more on John Dillenger and less on his relationship.

Thats my $.02

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Z.F.T.P./Sign To Myself Records

was so distracting.
this is the first movie that i could really tell that they are using video and not film.
it was just really those night wood scenes.

but it really was distracting. like someone switched on the HD all of a sudden.

but yeah pretty good flick

..|.,

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when they did

If anything, they should have moved Funny People (another odd summer movie choice even though it's Apatow and he's had previous success in the summer) to July 1 and saved this for late August-early September...
________________________________________________________________________

I thought it was an excellent film... I disagree with people that think that the film didn't show anything that would make you care for the main character... there were many scenes where you understood why he was who he was... i thought it was well done because it was subtle and it could make him seem misunderstood.. from a viewers perspective and from the perspective of other characters in the movie.. I could really explain myself if anyone thinks this is somehow "wrong" but.. I liked the main character and counted for him to win because I could see why he became a criminal.

let's play ping pong ■

It's a technically well made film with strong performances that draw people in. Because of that, people forgive it its weakness and read into things that simply aren't there. Dillinger was misunderstood? Hardly. Hell, even most positive reviews are willing to admit the films shortcomings in terms of emotion and character.

I get why people liked it and I bet I'd probably appreciate it more if I saw it again but to act like the film's weakness aren't there or are just subtleties that people missed is simply wrong.

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NBA MOCK DRAFT #1 - https://thecourierclass.com/whole-shebang/2017/5/18/2017-nba-mock-draft-1-just-lotto-and-lotta-trades

was misunderstood

In fact, one of the more intriguing subtexts of the movie is how Dillinger presented himself to the people; Mann goes out of his way to suggest that the guy knew EXACTLY what he was doing in forming his image as a populist bank robber... there's no way he was misunderstood, because one could argue that he was in control of his image and also his "message," such as it were ("I'm robbing the banks for the people!")...
________________________________________________________________________

Dillinger was not a very open man as far as his emotions were concerned.. and you had to pick up on the subtle indicators of how he was feeling, which helped you build a relationship with the character... for example: SPOILER: when he was picked up and interviewed by the media, he tells a story of how he was booked for $50.. and to me, that was a defining moment in his life where he decided to fight a system that treated him unfairly... leading him to a life of crime, etc... almost as if a rebel...

let's play ping pong ■

I really don't think that him explaining his backstory in an interview is all that subtle. He did everything but say point blank "And that's why I am who I am today."

It also doesn't make him the least bit misunderstood. He was a guy who got too harsh a penalty for a crime that he did commit, went to prison and became a hardened criminal determined to stick it to the man. Everyone knew that. It's not like his life story came even close to justifying his actions.

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Micheal Mann is back!!! Enjoyed the shit out of this movie. Although when when fat boy was beating Billie I hoped he was gonna die. That shit was pissing me off and just another example of why most people hate police.

------------------------------------------
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saw it on a whim and enjoyed it in a Road to Perdition, "the good scenes made me forget it's failings", one time through experience

--------

and left the theater thinking
ugghh!

Now i am finally dragging mysself in here and i am still pretty speechless

Bale and Depp,.... this was supposed to be a great flick.

Shit i was really disappointed. Not as good as 3:10 to Yuma. Shit, Bale was hardly even on the screen and when he was he was sleepwalking. I don't really think i'll rent it to see whether my opinion of it will change . I thought it was horrible a bit too artsy.
Wanted to see some good gangster shit. This was not it.


PS
and i still don't know who the hell Pretty Boy Floyd was,
Grade D

____________________

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i can't tell if the criticisms of it are off, or if the positives just won me over. either way I don't care. I think it's great.

kinda surprised at the lukewarm response to it, but alot of ptp'ers shit on Heat, which is something i'll never understand.

>i can't tell if the criticisms of it are off, or if the
>positives just won me over. either way I don't care. I think
>it's great.
>
>kinda surprised at the lukewarm response to it, but alot of
>ptp'ers shit on Heat,

Heat? I know you sre not talking about the Deniro and Pacino flick. That is a great film way better than PE.


which is something i'll never
>understand.

felt the personal lives of the guys should be cut out or made shorter.

>Heat? I know you sre not talking about the Deniro and
>Pacino flick. That is a great film way better than PE.

in my top 20 at least

i wouldn't change a thing

>in my top 20 at least

Definitely somewhere in the 30 to 75 range for me. It's one of the 10 flicks I've seen the most.

>i wouldn't change a thing

Two things that I wish were cut out:
1) "Give me all you got!" "Give me all you got!"
2) the song used when Hanna pulls McCauley over

>Two things that I wish were cut out:
>1) "Give me all you got!" "Give me all you got!"

nah that one's cool with me, but i'd get rid of Judd's "im sickofit! im sickofit!"

>2) the song used when Hanna pulls McCauley over

they use that song in miami heat games. doesn't bother me.

I rewatched on DVD a few weeks ago and it's not the same excitement...but it certainly isn't as bad as this thread makes it seem.

--------

I decided to give it another shot now that it's on HBO and it literally put me to sleep. Technically well made (although the ZZ Toppish song through me off like it did in the original) but hollow.

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but in this case it worked for me. fit the badassness of the moment

>I(although the
>ZZ Toppish song through me off like it did in the original)

I get the point that it doesn't fit in "thematically" with the rest of the movie, however

It's still a great song ("10 Million Slaves" by Otis Taylor)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhiO8rT_LnA

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3RLIU7T39I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFJ1Dr0knMg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOBhOdC74pA&feature=related

I have no problem with the song. It just seemed odd in the film.

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they don't think of a song about slaves.

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Did they even play the lyrics during the movie? Did anyone listen to them? Were we supposed to think that that was a song about slaves and the point supposed to be that Dillinger was like a slave, because that would have made it even worse.

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Do you really want to keep arguing about this?

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>Do you really want to keep arguing about this?

Keep the hyperbolic comments to yourself if you don't want to have to back them up.

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