Public Enemies

There is much to admire in this film... But it's as if the whole thing has been emotionally cauterised. It holds you at arm's length. As such, I found it peculiarly unsatisfying. If it had been a restaurant meal, I'd have come home and had a sandwich.

... it was entertaining, but quite long.

The desperate times in which we suddenly find ourselves ... make Public Enemies seem especially timely.

You can put together all the elements that should create gold and yet without that charmed, mysterious sprinkle of cinematic pixie dust, the alchemy fails to work.

A triumph of pure cinema, Public Enemies is one of the most visually experimental films of Mann's career.

There's a lot to admire, but it's not up to the standard of Mann's, or Depp's, best work.

With real characters full of virtues and defects. A crime film in the style of Michael Mann. [Full review in Spanish]

... a thinking man’s gangster film, less about thrills than the mechanics of Dillinger’s heists and Purvis’ investigation, which [director Michael Mann] executes with his usual precision.

What remains impressive is that there’s no need to fictionalize actual events much beyond what Burrough chronicled in his history—they’re all thrilling enough on their own to keep us engaged.

This film is worth a look for Depp fans and art film fans, and because it's not a noisy summer piece of bombast.