OK, enough about Christian Bale. Is it ever enough? No, it isn't...but we shall move on nonetheless. I loved Public Enemies - I thought it was put together really well, it was easy to follow and it made me feel like I was really back in the 30's. Johnny Depp was fantastic and I was glad that Dillinger was not written to have any real sympathy. He briefly mentions his upbringing but so much of the time writers write in some kind of flashback or something that makes you feel sorry for the bad guy. Well, John Dillinger robbed banks - he wasn't a good guy and he made no excuses for it. It was interesting that the media responded so favorably to him - he was really quite popular. Actually, maybe the most interesting part of the story to me was the backstory of the founding of the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover. Who were these guys going to be and what would they stand for? What kind of methods would they use and how would they be trained? Hoover wanted results, and was perhaps too eager to use severe tactics - Melvin Purvis seemed a bit more sympathetic and knew that for the FBI to really get results, they needed trained lawmen. I found it odd that they were holding a shootout complete in suits and hats - was that part of their initial image?
Chris and I both liked the style of the movie, especially in the gunfight scenes because they appeared really smoky and dirty. I assume that is a Michael Mann decision - and he makes suuuuch fantastic movies! Last of the Mohicans anyone?
Mmmmmmm.....Christian Bale...drool... :)
ReplyDeleteMmmmmmm.....Johnny Deep.....drool.... :)
I am totally going to see this at some point this weekend. Yay!
A must-see for me also. I'm save comments until I've also seen it except to agree with you that Christian Bale is far from new to the scene and he has paid his dues.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as far as the FBI wearing suits I have never seen a movie from that time period where they were dressed any other way so I'm saying it's an accurate portrayal.
More to come later.