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Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum, Giovanni Ribisi ... see more see more... , Billy Crudup , Stephen Dorff , David Wenham , Stephen Graham , Jason Clarke , Stephen Lang , John Michael Bolger , Rory Cochrane , Matt Craven , James Russo , Robyn Suzanne Scott , Casey Siemaszko , Lili Taylor , David Warshofsky , Alan Wilder , Branka Katic , John Kishline , Ed Bruce , Peter Gerety , Spencer Garrett , Domenick Lombardozzi , John Ortiz , Leelee Sobieski , Shawn Hatosy , Geoffrey Cantor , Lance Baker , Martie Sanders , Michael Bentt , Adam Clark , Diana Krall , Len Bajenski , Guy Van Swearingen , Keith Kupferer , Kurt Naebig , Christian Stolte , Brian Connelly , Bill Camp , Emilie De Ravin , Andrew Krukowski , Jim Carrane , Adam Mucci , Carey Mulligan , Chandler Williams , Gareth Saxe , Don Frye , Richard Short , Rebecca Spence , John Judd , John Hoogenakker , Shanyn Leigh , Randy Ryan , Jeff Still , Kris Wolff , Jeff Shannon , Wesley Walker , Michael Vieau , Peter DeFaria , John Scherp , Elena Kenney , Madison Dirks , Danni Simon , John Lister , Rick Uecker , Mark Vallarta , Dan Maldanado , Sean Rosales , Stephen Spencer , Patrick Zielinski , Steve Key , Gerald Goff , Joseph Mazurk

Based on author Bryan Burrough's ambitious tome Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-43, director Michael Mann's sprawling historical crime drama follows the ef... read more read more...forts of top FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale ) in capturing notorious bank robber John Dillinger. A folk hero to the American public thanks to his penchant for robbing the banks that many people believed responsible for the Great Depression, charming bandit Dillinger (Johnny Depp) was virtually unstoppable at the height of his criminal career; no jail could hold him, and his exploits endeared him to the common people while making headlines across the country. J. Edgar Hoover's (Billy Crudup) FBI was just coming into formation, and what better way for the ambitious lawman to transform his fledgling Bureau of Investigation into a national police force than to capture the gang that always gets away? Determined to bust Dillinger and his crew, which also included sociopathic Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham) and Alvin Karpis (Giovanni Ribisi), Hoover christened Dillinger the country's very first Public Enemy Number One, and unleashed Purvis to take them down by whatever means necessary. But Purvis underestimated Dillinger's ingenuity as a master criminal, and after embarking on a frantic series of chases and shoot-outs, the dashing agent humbly surmised that he was in over his head. Outwitted and outgunned, Purvis knew that his only hope for busting Dillinger's gang was to baptize a crew of Western ex-lawmen as official agents, and orchestrate a series of betrayals so cunning that even America's criminal mastermind wouldn't know what hit him. Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum, and Stephen Dorff co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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65% liked it

510,101 ratings

Critics

68% liked it

256 critics

R, 2 hr. 20 min.

Directed by: Michael Mann

Release Date: July 1, 2009

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DVD Release Date: December 8, 2009

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Stats: 33,937 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (33,937)

  • jmanard52
    December 21, 2009
    jmanard52
    Great cast, great action. Excellent gangster movie took me back to the Untouchables. One of my all time favorites ..
  • fb1463751009
    March 9, 2012
    fb1463751009
    I watched this movie at a midnight showing. I was extremely excited for this movie. It all seemed great: Michael Mann, the director of Heat is directing this movie... Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in a gangster movie! OMG COUNT ME IN! However, we were left with a very faithful a... read moredaptation to John Dillinger, one of the greatest criminals during the 1930's that was messily mashed together. The locales this film takes place on are sometimes the EXACT locations where they have occurred and others where reconstructed to look exactly like it, but the editing, the direction, and the cinematography were AWFUL. I do not say this about a lot of movies but the editing sometimes got horrendous (Note that I went to watch this movie twice). In one particular scene, there were tommy guns being shot off in front of the camera, but suddenly, Johnny Depp screeches about 4x louder than the gunshots, "GET IN THE CAR!" If it was intentional, this must be an amateur. The film also uses a digital HD camera that create incredibly rich and gorgeous shots.... only when the camera is still. Michael Mann goes for a "shaky cam" feel and it absolutely does not work with this camera. I honestly love the shaky cam (Cloverfield, Bourne series, etc.) but it did not add unto the movie's effect. With the technical sides out of the way, I would have to say that "Public Enemies" suffers a lot in terms of its storytelling. Johnny Depp and Christian Bale played their roles, but the audience was NOT emotionally invested... and this is a problem I frequently see from Michael Mann's movies. The characters on screen never seem to be human and so tension never truly builds up. This is not the actors' faults (He did get some of the greatest actors on screen like Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Tom Cruise) but it is the screenplay that suffers. Some of the dialogue were god-awful. I would say the only redeeming factors of this movie are: Some scenes with Christian Bale, the shootout scenes (exquisitely done), and some still camera shots were gorgeous. That's about it. You want good Michael Mann movies? Collateral, Heat, and The Insider are those movies... Unfortunately, this is not it.
  • brownman83
    December 25, 2011
    brownman83
    What was the best part about Public Enemies? The Score. What was the worst part about it? The pathetic use of the stellar cast. Yes, Public Enemies is my 3rd film to be rated a 70% in a row, and im not glad because of that. I first saw Public Enemies a few years ago when it came ... read moreout, and to be honest with you, I liked it alot. my brain honestly couldn't comprehend the complete story, but I really liked the action sequences. Back then it could've been an 80 or 90 percent for me, but now, I just cant enjoy it as much. The action scenes were nice, and they had some suspense at some parts for me. The love relationship I actually enjoyed this time, unlike the last movie I saw which was The Town, and I hated that relationship. The chemistry between Depp and Cotillard was alright, I think it was the acting that made it that way. But the dialogue and the actions they did to love each other were enjoyable for me. Next, is the score. The score, for me, was one of the best of 2009. It was country, classic, and epic all at the same time. Now, the use of the score was a little sad. At bank heists, the country/guitar score got a bit annoying, and at other times it was used to add more drama to the scene, when the scene wasn't very dramatic in the first place. I have to say, though, with all the opera and choir use and violin use, I didn't care where it was used after a bit, I just wanted to hear it. After that, it brings me to the complete story line. The John Dillinger cases were very interesting to me when I first saw this film. The fact that he was a supposed "modern robin hood" got me very mesmerized in the film. And when they had all these real historical figures like J. Edgar Hoover, Melvin Purvis, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd in the film, I was hooked. The historical accuracy was perfect, for all these scenes I were seeing made me think they came straight out of a history article. The story was a bit slow and confusing at times, and even after the second viewing I still couldn't understand what was going on in some of the scenes. But overall, I actually enjoyed the plot. The next thing I want to talk about it is the acting. Here we have Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Johnny Depp and Channing Tatum, all in one film, but they simply weren't used well. Christian Bale never made any smart dialogue, I don't even remember seeing Channing Tatum, Johnny Depp was dull and boring the whole time, and Marion Cotillard wasn't a very convincing American woman (I think it was the accent). If there was a favorite character of mine, it had to be the actor who played Baby Face Nelson, and sadly, no one real famous played him. As it is though, the film was worse for me the second viewing, doesn't mean I couldn't enjoy the score, action sequences, and the love relationship. In the end, Public Enemies was a film with poor use of cast, but excellent use of historical story.

    Public Enemies- 70%, B
  • ironclad1609
    December 12, 2011
    ironclad1609
    In a way, director Michael Mann took the premise of his masterwork "Heat" and transferred it to the 30s and the real events about America's public enemy number one John Dillinger. Sadly, the chemistry between Depp and his hunter Bale is never as explosive as between DeNiro and Pa... read morecino, mostly because they have very few scenes together. That doesn't mean there isn't excitement in this hunt. The shootouts are excellently filmed and there are moments of brilliance, for example in the traffic light scene. The decision to film this on video does give the film a hyper realistic look, which works for some scenes but feels strange in others. Overall, an entertaining, sometimes enthralling crime drama with excellent acting. Depp manages to make you care for this gentleman bank robber, who's more likable than some of the law enforcers. But the rest of the cast delivers the goods, as well. Especially the last shot of Marion Cotillard's face is unforgettable.
  • aquateen2
    November 1, 2011
    aquateen2
    There isn't anything wrong with Public Enemies. But then again there isn't anything really special or memorable about it either.
  • fb1378820053
    August 16, 2011
    fb1378820053
    With a Thin and weak Plot. Public Enemies Makes up for its self with Good directing, Superb action scenes and Brilliant Acting from Depp and Bale! All round Public enemies is a Highly Enjoyable Gangster Flick!
  • blkbomb
    June 29, 2011
    blkbomb
    Public Enemies is an amazing gangster movie. I love the way it was shot and all the shootout scenes were outstanding. The movie is at times slow, mostly when it is examining the relationship between Dillinger and Billie. At other times it is extremely fast paced and exciting. Mic... read morehael Mann is one hell of a director and he proves it again here. The same can be said for Johnny Depp as an actor and he was great as Dillinger. The rest of the cast was good too. Christian Bale as always and Marion Cotillard in the first role I ever saw here in. Christopher Nolan definitely took notice of her. Can't wait to see her in The Dark Knight Rises.
  • fb732260458
    May 12, 2011
    fb732260458
    A solid 1930's-Chicago gangster period piece, Public Enemies features great performances from Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, taut direction from Michael Mann and plenty of visceral action. However, whether it fully captures the Depression-era atmosphere and provides any real emo... read moretional heft - that can be debated.
  • danperry17
    March 23, 2011
    danperry17
    Whither the gangster film?? I thought for sure that this film would knock my socks off but I was soundly disappointed. A famous American story was watered down to a series of glossy shootouts and bad "big lines." I don't usually expect the world of biopics, or based on a true sto... read morery flicks; they always fudge the details and make a hero of the main character. But in Public Enemies, the characters practically read you their Wikipedia bios in the early going, and every "important conversation" is poorly written. Mann includes every insignificant shot on the roll - what else is new? - and despite being almost an hour shorter than his breakthrough film, Heat, this one felt more indulgent. Bright spots? Some acceptable action scenes, a more-captivating-than-the-rest-of-it final hour, and Billy Crudup in the role of J. Edgar Hoover. Overall, though, the film's attempt to give raw, realistic action clashed irremediably with the epic score - thank you, music director, for reminding me what I should feel in every scene - and Public Enemies falls into the heap with The Untouchables as another great story completely butchered by Hollywood. Total disappointment, I had to force myself to stay with it until the ending.
  • DreamExtractor
    March 21, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    A flawless thriller that brings us to the conclusion of what happened in the last moment of John Dillinger.

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Critic Reviews

Ben Mankiewicz
July 6, 2009
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies

I do think this is a film worth seeing, so obviously, I say see it. Full Review

Ben Lyons
July 6, 2009
Ben Lyons, At the Movies

Some strong performances, but I expected more from this great director and stellar cast. Full Review

Christopher Orr
July 3, 2009
Christopher Orr, New Republic

If John Dillinger had not existed... Michael Mann would have had to invent him. Full Review

Peter Rainer
July 3, 2009
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

It tills the old ground, albeit with new-style star power and Mann's signature cinematic flourishes. But Depp is unduly subdued and Mann's cape work is oversold. Full Review

Joe Morgenstern
July 2, 2009
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

Our connections with Public Enemies remain abstract. The darkness and the distance kill the fun. Full Review

Kathleen Murphy
July 2, 2009
Kathleen Murphy, MSN Movies

... as strange and exhilarating as riding the running board of John Dillinger's fast, shiny, black getaway car. Full Review

David Edelstein
July 2, 2009
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

The best rejoinder to Public Enemies is Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal video... It's a tommy-gun gangster fantasia with a touch of Guys and Dolls, and it's everything Public Enemies isn't. Full Review

J. R. Jones
July 2, 2009
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

Mann excels at staging the chaotic bank jobs and bloody shootouts that were just a day at the office for Dillinger, but even at 140 minutes the movie is so dense with incident that there isn't much ro... Full Review

Joe Neumaier
July 1, 2009
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

The underconceived Public Enemies suffers from that lack of drive, though Johnny Depp is so urgent and charismatic as John Dillinger, he provides enough firepower to make the film legit. Full Review

Colin Covert
July 1, 2009
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

It fits neatly on the shelf with Bonnie and Clyde and The Godfather. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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    • John Dillinger: You act like a confident man, Mr. Purvis. Ya got a few qualities. Probly pretty good from a distance, especially when ya got the fella out-numbered. But up-close, toe-to-toe, when somebody's about to die right here, right now... I'm used to that.
    • John Dillinger: I was raised on a farm in Moooresville, Indiana. My mama ran out on us when I was three, my daddy beat the hell out of me cause he didn't know no better way to raise me. I like baseball, movies, good clothes, fast cars, whiskey, and you. What else you need to know?
    • Melvin Purvis: What keeps you up nights, Mr. Dillinger?
    • John Dillinger: Coffee.
    • John Dillinger: Well if it isn't the man who shot Pretty-Boy Floyd. Good thing 'cause he sure wasn't Whiz-Kid Floyd.
    • John Dillinger: You wanna know if we're armed? We're armed.
    • John Dillinger: We're having too good a time today. We ain't thinking about tomorrow.
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Public Enemies Trivia

  • The Quote "We're having too good a time today. We ain't thinking about tomorrow" is taken from the movie entitled _________.  Answer »
  • "You can be a dead hero or a live coward" is taken from the movie entitled ___________.  Answer »
  • "They ain't tough enough, smart enough or fast enough. I can hit any bank I want, any time. They got to be at every bank, all the time." Quote from the movie entitled _______________.   Answer »
  • The Tagline "America's Most Wanted" is taken from the movie entitled ____________.  Answer »
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