Public Enemies

[Jen]

One of my all time favorite films is by Mann - The Insider. Damn I LOVE that movie....hopefully I will love this one too.

 

[The Ween]

Does anyone know how long this is going to be? I'm curious as to how much time was shaved off of it since the test screening.

 

[MaulFan]

I loved this movie, my 2nd favorite all summer. Love HEAT and this is a lot like HEAT but set in 1930s. Depp's one of my favorite actors and was really good as always, Bale once for the second time this summer was in a role where his abilities are a bit wasted I think, not sure why he takes them, he doesn't do bad, just small bits, he doesn't get to shine at all. Elliot Goldenthal's music for this movie was great.

Spoiler

Loved the music when Dillinger is killed in the end.

 

[DarkArtist81]

Good to hear it was a good film! I have a free pass and wanted to use it on something good, wasn't wanting to use it on Transformers.... so now that I know this one is good, I will see it instead.

 

[Buttmunch]

I'm hoping to go to this on Friday. Been looking forward to it. I'm just surprised how much the advertising has been solely on Johnny Depp. I honeslty keep forgeting Bale is in this. You'd think they'd want to play him up as much as possible, even if he isn't the star.

 

[MaulFan]

Given Bale's bad press, mix that with his smaller role, and i'd say it's wise just to push Johnny, everyone loves Johnny, and particularly, Depp can help sell to women too, lots of girls think he's hot.

One thing that surprised me, my theater was mostly made up of old folks seeing it, which shocked me, I didn't think this would appeal to people 60+.

 

[wHySoSeRiOuS203]

Given Bale's bad press, mix that with his smaller role, and i'd say it's wise just to push Johnny, everyone loves Johnny, and particularly, Depp can help sell to women too, lots of girls think he's hot.

One thing that surprised me, my theater was mostly made up of old folks seeing it, which shocked me, I didn't think this would appeal to people 60+.

same here! but there were two old peoples and me...and a female

and we were the only ones in the theatre everyone else flocked to transformers which wasnt as good as this

 

[Buttmunch]

Well my mom still loves Johnny Depp so I think you might be right about his draw power. She thinks he is a dork in real life though. Her feeling is actors just don't know what to do in real life without people telling them what to do, what to say, and what to where. She'll go to anything with him in it though.

And not to sound rude, but maybe the older audience is because some of them might remember the time period. They might have grown up during it or at least heard stories from their parents. Just a guess though.

 

[EVILFACE]

Thought it was a good overall movie. 7/10

The entire cast was great and the period sets and cars, clothes and loctions were awesome. And of course Mann didnt let us down with the shootouts and gun sounds. Its a bit long though.

 

[MaulFan]

This movie was exactly what I was hoping for. I wanted a story and characters I could invest myself in, and I did. Star Trek and Public Enemies have been the only movies I've seen this summer that give you that, Transformers, Terminator and Wolverine were entertaining, but I just sat back and watched, I didn't feel drawn in like this.

I'm going to hate this movie on home video though, I'm still DVD with no surround sound and the audio of the machine guns was just spectacular, it was like actually being there when they're fired.

 

[MaulFan]

And not to sound rude, but maybe the older audience is because some of them might remember the time period. They might have grown up during it or at least heard stories from their parents. Just a guess though.

Well that's what I figured, and I don't think it's rude. I just wonder if Michael Mann's depiction is up their alley. There certainly wasn't anything objectionable to the movie, no needless sex scenes or over the top viloence, just a really well told story.

I will say, for me the movie ramped up, it felt a little slow at first, I was nervous I wasn't going to like it, but once it really got into the meat of the story, and I'd say maybe 30 minutes in, out of 2 plus hours that's not much, I really felt captivated.

For me, it was like a combination of 2 favorite movies, you get the Michal Mann qualities from Heat, and you get a character performance you can really invest in from Johnny Depp like in Donnie Brasco.

Spoiler

I was really bummed to see Dillinger die at the end, but the way it was done was fantastic, and the music was really moving, I've already listened to the track 3 times since downloading the soundtrack tonight.

 

[plasmid303]

Given Bale's bad press, mix that with his smaller role, and i'd say it's wise just to push Johnny, everyone loves Johnny, and particularly, Depp can help sell to women too, lots of girls think he's hot.

One thing that surprised me, my theater was mostly made up of old folks seeing it, which shocked me, I didn't think this would appeal to people 60+.

I'm not surprised. It's a movie that takes place in the 30's, maybe some of the elderly viewing the film were young enough to have heard about Dillinger from their parents or something. EDIT: Exactly what Buttmunch said.

In regards to Bale, are you saying he's been overshadowed again? It's a recurring situation with him and most of his roles in the last few years. The Dark knight, Terminator, 3:10 to Yuma, he's always getting his thunder stolen. But Public Enemies is Depp's film, there's arguing that, I guess.

I'm catching it on Friday. Need something new to wash Transformers out of my brain.

 

[MaulFan]

Yeah, basically Bale ammounts to as much as Dark Knight and Terminator in this one. I think he's a really good actor and I would love to see a new movie where he gets more a chance to show it like in Batman Begins. I know a lot of folks think he's a ^^^^ or whatever, but I respect his devotion to his craft and I think he just takes roles he finds interesting whether it's center stage or not, and he plays them all very well, you just don't have much of that performance to enjoy. I wanted more Wayne in Dark Knight, I wanted more Connor in Terminator, and I'd have liked Public Enemies to have a balance between Bale and Depp like with Pacino and Deniro in HEAT, but being the Dillinger story, it would only be faithful to focus on the man instead of those hunting him.

Spoiler

I love how cocky Depp plays Dillinger too, walking right into the police room that's tasked to tracking him and even conversing with duty officers, what balls.

 

[Buttmunch]

Well that's what I figured, and I don't think it's rude. I just wonder if Michael Mann's depiction is up their alley. There certainly wasn't anything objectionable to the movie, no needless sex scenes or over the top viloence, just a really well told story.

I will say, for me the movie ramped up, it felt a little slow at first, I was nervous I wasn't going to like it, but once it really got into the meat of the story, and I'd say maybe 30 minutes in, out of 2 plus hours that's not much, I really felt captivated.

For me, it was like a combination of 2 favorite movies, you get the Michal Mann qualities from Heat, and you get a character performance you can really invest in from Johnny Depp like in Donnie Brasco.

Spoiler

I was really bummed to see Dillinger die at the end, but the way it was done was fantastic, and the music was really moving, I've already listened to the track 3 times since downloading the soundtrack tonight.

Well I didn't want to sound like only old people like historical movies. Like saying there were a bunch of geezers watching this civil war movie since half of them were around then, or something along those lines. But in this case it might really be true that they were around during this period, or at least their parents were. But chances are if old people are going to this, most everyone will too (well, except maybe teenagers. They might go for the gangsta film and be bored by all the talking and lack of transformers).

But I'm glad this film doesn't have any unnecessary stuff. I always hate it when a great movie is ruined by pointless nudity/sex or language. I saw Pelham 123 the other night and that was a great film except for all of the F-bombs. Yeah, I get that some people talk like that, but EVERYONE was talking like they don't know any other adverbs or adjectives than the F word. I don't know if that is just lazy writing or what, but its always been a pet peeve of mine. There are so many words in the English language, why use a profanity over and over again. It just makes people look stupid IMO.

 

[Buttmunch]

Yeah, basically Bale ammounts to as much as Dark Knight and Terminator in this one. I think he's a really good actor and I would love to see a new movie where he gets more a chance to show it like in Batman Begins. I know a lot of folks think he's a ^^^^ or whatever, but I respect his devotion to his craft and I think he just takes roles he finds interesting whether it's center stage or not, and he plays them all very well, you just don't have much of that performance to enjoy. I wanted more Wayne in Dark Knight, I wanted more Connor in Terminator, and I'd have liked Public Enemies to have a balance between Bale and Depp like with Pacino and Deniro in HEAT, but being the Dillinger story, it would only be faithful to focus on the man instead of those hunting him.

Spoiler

I love how cocky Depp plays Dillinger too, walking right into the police room that's tasked to tracking him and even conversing with duty officers, what balls.

Regarding your spoiler, Depp was on Letterman the other night and talked about how Dillinger went to Coney Island and had a cop take his picture and then got a picture with the cop. And this was when he was Public Enemy number one!

Makes you wonder just how little people pay attention. Frankly I don't even know who is on the FBI's most wanted list right now except Osama Bin Laden. And if he shaved his beard I'm sure he could almost get away with the same things Dillinger did.

 

[Bamboota]

I have been counting the days to this movie...

Bale AND Depp.

OMG



I don't think my heart will be able to take it.



(And I better bring an extra pair of panties with me.)

I hear ya sista....I'm defenetly gonna take me a towel so I can dry myself up during the movie!

 

[MaulFan]

Everything in PE is tasteful, and the only real bad language is fitting for the emotional states of the people throwing them out, not like contemporary movies where people swear like you say just for doing it.

Between this and HEAT, I really think Mann should stick with heist/ganster/criminal type movies, he seems very good at them, and gets the right talent for the roles too.

 

[Buttmunch]

Thats good to know. I'm fine with violence, language, etc if it is done tastefully.

And I'm glad to hear this is along the lines of being Heat good. The local paper gave it three and a half stars out of four so I figured it must be good. The reviewers usually are very harsh. They don't even bother to review horror movies unless there is NOTHING else coming out that week.

As a side note, I really wish Pacino and De Niro would do more films together. Heat and Righteous Kill were great because of their interaction.

 

[Jen]

Just got back from watching this - I thought it was fantastic.

Great script, superb acting from everyone, loved the music....The pace was perfect...there wasn't a moment when I was bored. The sets and costumes and direction really made you feel like you were a part of that time period. I was very impressed and actually wished there was more.

I'm a big Michael Mann fan - with his direction and this cast of talented actors, it definitely was one of the better films (if not the best) I have seen this year.

 

[Bannister]

One thing that surprised me, my theater was mostly made up of old folks seeing it, which shocked me, I didn't think this would appeal to people 60+.

This movie has older crowd written all over it. It is a Michael Mann drama set in the 30's. I am surprised this wasn't released in the fall.