Public Enemies directed by Michael Mann is a sprawling period piece, a crime drama set in the 30s-era of gangsters and lawmen, and it stars Johnny Depp as Robin Hood-style legendary bank robber John Dillinger.

The film blends a lot of fact and a bit of fantasy to tell the story of Dillinger who robbed the rich and occasionally gave to the poor, eventually emerging as a larger-than-life folk hero whom the feds swung into action to capture.

The filmmaker shoots Dillinger as a cocky fugitive who enjoys outwitting the law and is practically impervious to capture.

Much like our Hindi movie heroes, he manages to escape even when outnumbered, he dodges a flurry of bullets, and brazenly taunts the feds by hiding in plain sight.

Billy Crudup stars as the young J Edgar Hoover, then the head of the fledgling FBI, and Christian Bale plays Melvin Purvis, the agent in charge of bringing Dillinger to justice.

If the film had focused on these three men and the battle of wits between them, there might have been room to develop them as characters, but director Michael Mann crams the film with numerous side players who appear just long enough to be blown up by the cops.

For those who just want to see gun battles, the love story angle between Dillinger and Billie, the beautiful hat-check girl played by Marion Cottilard, may drag towards the middle of the film, but Depp and Cottilard have palpable chemistry and their romantic scenes are some of the movie's finest.

Filmed in a deliberately 'digitial video' style to capture the immediacy of the action, Public Enemies does full justice to the period it's set in by delivering flawless production design in terms of sets and props and costumes.

Johnny Depp plays Dillinger with a subtly simmering charm, and Mann shoots him in tight close-ups to heighten his appeal. But in the end it's the action set pieces you remember because sadly this film fails to establish a genuine emotional connection to the characters. And without that depth, you really couldn't care less about whose blood is getting spilled.

Public Enemies doesn't hold its own against some of Mann's previous films including Heat and The Insider, but it's an enjoyable enough blow-em-up picture for action fans.

I'm going with three out of five for Public Enemies, watch it if you're a fan of Johnny Depp, he has a charismatic, alluring appeal that lifts this film considerably.

Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)

This movie was excellent. It really shows Johnny Depp's wide range of acting skills. He WAS Dillinger!

I do have my own little personal story to tell. My great grandparents rubbed shoulders with Dillinger believe it or not. My great-grandfather was a baptist minister in Missouri and he and his wife were sitting at the breakfast table one morning with the door open as they usually do. And who should appear at their back door? Of course, Dillinger. He politely asked if he could have a glass of water, no doubt in between escapes. My great-grandparents knew who he was as word of him was everywhere and they recognized him. As was the custom in their day they invited him in and my great-grandmother fed him breakfast. She would never let any one leave the house unless she fed them! It didn't matter that Dillinger was a criminal. It would have been considered rude not to. At the time, the world was suffering a Great Depression and people were literally starving. People did not look down upon one another then as people were basically trying to survive. Also, Dillinger gave a lot to the poor people and made a good name for himself among the working class.

Well, he ate, said thank you and left as quietly as he came. I have always been thrilled to hear this story from my parents who were told it from their parents.

Bonnie and Clyde often passed through the stix where my great-grandparents lived, never but never visited like Dillinger.

Dillinger was a criminal, he killed people, and robbed and stole. He risked doing what others wanted to do to survive but never would. He went down the wrong path and paid the consequences.

But we will never forget Bonnie and Clyde and the larger than life John Dillinger.

This is a very good film, with Depp and Bale performances of brutal clarity. I'm trying to understand why it is not quite a great film. I think it may be because it deprives me of some stubborn need for closure. His name was John Dillinger, and he robbed banks. But there had to be more to it than that, right? No, apparently not

from the director of collateral comes the film inspired by one of americas most captivating and infamous outlaws john dillinger. johnny depp (pirates of the caribbean) stars as the charismatic and elusive bank robber marked by the FBI as americas public enemy number one. academy award winner marion cotilard plays billie the only woman capable of capturing his heart hunted relentlessly by FBI agent melvin(christian bale) engaes in an escalating game of cat and mouse that ends in a explosive show down.

Before seeing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button I wondered how I would react to the story of a man who is born old and gets younger as he grows up. Of all of the stories I have come across, this is by far the most bizarre and intriguing. If i had to pick someone to bring this story to the screen I do no think David Fincher would have been my first choice.

How wrong I would have been. This film is by far one of the best if not the best of 2008. Fincher's direction is flawless! The film from start to finish does not let up. There are moments of joy and ecstasy followed by sorrow and understanding. Brad Pitt stars as Benjamin, a boy born an old man who must live his life in reverse. His friend from childhood, Daisy, is played by Cate Blanchett. The story is narrated from Benjamin's point of view with some particular highlights from Daisy.

The cast does nothing wrong. Pitt leads with Blanchett and a strong performance from Taraji P. Henson as Benjamin's surrogate mother Queenie, the only person in the world who seems to understand and truly love him from the start. Other cameos along the way bring a large array of characters, including Tilda Swinton, one of Benjamin's early love interests.

The film spans from the end of World War I to the the arrival of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The transitions from life stage to life stage and decade to decade are seamless. Fincher does a tremendous job at maintaining a steady flow of action and dialogue. There is not a dull moment in the film. The cinematography is superb and couples nicely with Fincher's style of accentuating certain colors to enhance a mood or moment.

There really is nothing wrong with this film. Even with a runtime of about 160 minutes, time just flies by, much like it does for Benjamin, only we are going forward. This is a tender and meaningful film you do not want to wish.

EDITED

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 efforts 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.

Starring, Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum, Giovanni Ribisi , 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 , Brian Connelly , Bill Camp , Emilie De Ravin , Andrew Krukowski , Jim Carrane , Adam Mucci , Carey Mulligan.

Directed by a good director Micheal Mann who is not flawless.

now i have no idea about all the love it got, it seriously wasn't a good movie at all. i mean it wasn't excellent or good. just plain average. it has many flaws and quite forgettable, like in minutes. a serious overrated movie which is not awful or worst but still not good too.

ok so i liked the way the shoot out scenes were done, quite realistic and classy. Cinematography was good and so was the art direction. the technical aspects were really good to be honest. the photography and the way its been shot in some new high definition way is what he is been trying to do, for the new face of movies, i appreciate that because it shows more detailing but hard to call it the best technique until i get fully satisfied with it while i see it in other movies. the screenplay was bland, dull and too slow and empty. i even wasn't quite impressed by the whole Dillinger persona for that time. character wasn't well showed and everything. it lacked the dramatic or emotional touch.

Depp did a nice job, he looked okay in it but could have been better alot. Bale was nice too. Cotillard was fantastic and so was Curdup.

very draggy and slow going parts with a feel of nothingness in it. i don't even remember it after have seen it 3 times. the movie doesn't deliver much to be honest. i don't get this, everyone is just lost in this movie. what the hell happened?

Overrated and just for Depp watch. thought i didn't liked the way everyone was cast except Billy Curdup.