Public Enemies

So I saw Public Enemies the other day. It's the story of John Dillinger, who for those of you who don't know (I didn't before I saw the movie), was the FBI's "Public Enemy No. 1" during the 1930's. The story simply follows the antics, so to speak, of Dillinger (played by a dashing Johnny Depp) and his crew, from heists to car chases to where he holes up for the night. Special Agent Melvin Purvis (played by an unemotional Christian Bale) is after the Public Enemies list, and it ends up as somewhat of a cat-and-mouse scenario.

Now, if or when you see this, you should keep in mind that the movie is based on real life events; that is to say, if you don't recreate those events, the movie won't be accurate. Considering this, it seems almost like the writers had simply heard of him and said "screw this, we know enough without our research." If anyone were to actually look up anything AT ALL about Dillinger, they would find the movie to be severely lacking. Simple facts of Dillinger's life are essentially wrong.

As a movie, disregarding the history, no matter how wrong it is, it was decent. True, there was no character development whatsoever, and true, the movie is alternately speeding by and lethargic, but at least it looks good while it fails. The costumes are spectacular, the props are accurate, and the accents are effortless. It's fun to watch, at the very least. I was entertained during the movie, but when I found out how wrong it was, and for no reason at all, I was slightly less elated.

So, as I will sometimes recommend, you'll have to see it yourself to decide.

I feel obliged to add a metaphor: I got the poster, just because it looks cool.