Michael Mann can sure direct an action sequence. Mann, the director of Collateral, Heat, Ali and Miami Vice brings his visual flair to the story of John Dillinger the famous bank robber and Public Enemy No. 1. Starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and about 20 other actors whose faces you will know, even if you can't think of their names.
The movie is a technical marvel. Mann's use of lighting, lens filters, combined with unique camera movements and angles, brings a very stylish and effective look to the film. The action sequences are the biggest highlight of the movie, Tommy Guns blaze open in numerous bank robbing sequences and Mann doesn't resort to quick cutting enabling the viewer to actually tell what's going on.
The downside of the movie is that there is no emotional connection to anyone in the film. We root for Dillinger because Depp is great in the role and because he's Johnny Depp. Bale plays lawman Melvin Purvis, the lead investigator into Dillenger's doings, but isn't given much to do besides act serious and determined. The love story works the same, we accept that Billie Frechette falls easily in love with Dillinger because he's charming and he's famous, it just happens really fast. It also can become tricky to keep track of everyone in Dillinger's gang, we just don't see enough of them. I think this would work better as a miniseries, really letting more characters be fleshed out and given screen time.
All in all I do believe the good outweighs the bad Mann's direction and style is just too enjoyable but I'm not sure if the movie will hold up on repeat viewings. It's definitely worth seeing, just don't expect a timeless gangster movie.
Rating 3.5/5
Yeah I usually see a movie if Depp is in it. Reliably a good show, sometimes downright memorable.
ReplyDeleteOk we saw it. It sucked goat balls. I wanted to leave in the middle, but Liliya said we already paid for it.
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