Public Enemies

After watching Public Enemies tonight, I am sorely missing my 11 dollars. The movie was a mish-mash of bad camera work and bad script writing. The camera was constantly shaking and moving rapidly, so there was no opportunity to focus or figure out what was going on. I think the director was going for that kind of frenetic, fast-paced, gangster feel for the film so he made the camera very jumpy, but it seemed like amateur hour(or two). The camera also featured numerous close-up views of the characters,to the point of it becoming extremely irritating.

Public Enemies also stars Christian Bale, doing a southern accent. The accent is reminiscent of Foghorn Leghorn if you're familiar with Looney Tunes(I made sure I made everyone aware of that), and it was inconsistent throughout the movie. The accent got heavier or lighter at times, almost as if Bale forgot his character place. Bale was one of the most disappointing things in the movie.

The plot was convoluted, and many scenes were extremely drawn out and didn't contribute to the progression of the film. There were scenes of rival gangsters plotting against Dillinger, but to no end. There was no point for any of that.

There are some redeeming qualities to the movie, Depp's performance was good (although forgettable), and some of the shootouts were enjoyable to watch. Depp's Dillinger was very mundane and boring, but I do credit him for being the only redeeming aspect in the movie. He did the best he could with the suave and laid back Dillinger, but my friends and I were dissapointed at the fact that the "fearsome" Dillinger never killed anyone or showed a hint of anger for 2 and a half hours! I will blame the bad screenplay and camera work for the mediocre end product. This movie wanted to be great, but just fell way short.

I would advise people not to see it in theaters, but I'd recommend renting it. 6/10