This was a pretty good year for action movies all around, we had some really good stuff that was put out movies like; Inglorious Bastards, District 9, Zombieland, and Avatar (the good one and yes Rivers it is a good movie). But one movie that is often overlooked is the movie Public Enemies which I think got a little too much of a bad rap.Public Enemies follows the infamous story of John Dillinger and his gang of morally corrupt crew members. When I watched the movie at what ever ungodly hour of the night it was I found that Public Enemies left me with a strange sense of satisfaction. Although a little long the story was very likable but where this movie really shined was in the character development of John Dillinger. That being said there were some elements of the film that almost ruined the whole experience for me and that was the poor lighting and constant use of shaky cam throughout the film.
Public Enemies was directed by none other than Michael Mann who is a very respected director who delivered us countless action classics like; Heat, Collateral (we actually saw a still from this movie at the very beginning of the year) and Miami Vice (the movie). Although one of his downfalls that plagues this movie so much is the use of shaky camera shots that were pretty much constant throughout the film. Whenever some was running, punching, or just moving aggressively the only thing that you would see is the weird obscured mess. It was almost as if you tied a go-pro to the ankle of a sprinter and told him to do a lap around the track or in this movies case run to the get away car. Unfortunately that's not the only thing that bothered me with this film one of the other elements that bothered me was the lighting. In a simple term the lighting was just chaotic at times, for example there is a part in the film when the gang's safe house no longer becomes safe. Eventually the scene erupts with gun fire and bright mussel flashes and this is where the lighting key is at its worst because during the shootout I got lost. At the beginning of the shootout I knew where everyone was and what they were doing but not even half way into the action the lights were so dim that I couldn't tell who was who. It was even worse when people were moving it got to the point in which I couldn't even make out what the characters were doing.
Although this being said Public Enemies does have a good plot and more than awesome character development. I was astounded with Johnny Depp's performance as the infamous John Dillinger, Johnny really captured the essence of who John Dillinger was and that was that unpredictability. In one scene he would be a charming well dressed gentleman not afraid to approach a complete stranger and express his feelings. While in another scene he was a merciless unstoppable bank robber who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. But the thing that really blew me away was the humanity that he brought to the giving a very Robin Hood-esk connotation to the role. And the plot was just great we see a determined Melvin Purvis played Christian Bale relentless in his hunt for the Dillinger gang as well as the consequences that followed the John and his gang. All in all I highly recommend that you give Public Enemies a try the next time your at a movie low.
Public Enemies was directed by none other than Michael Mann who is a very respected director who delivered us countless action classics like; Heat, Collateral (we actually saw a still from this movie at the very beginning of the year) and Miami Vice (the movie). Although one of his downfalls that plagues this movie so much is the use of shaky camera shots that were pretty much constant throughout the film. Whenever some was running, punching, or just moving aggressively the only thing that you would see is the weird obscured mess. It was almost as if you tied a go-pro to the ankle of a sprinter and told him to do a lap around the track or in this movies case run to the get away car. Unfortunately that's not the only thing that bothered me with this film one of the other elements that bothered me was the lighting. In a simple term the lighting was just chaotic at times, for example there is a part in the film when the gang's safe house no longer becomes safe. Eventually the scene erupts with gun fire and bright mussel flashes and this is where the lighting key is at its worst because during the shootout I got lost. At the beginning of the shootout I knew where everyone was and what they were doing but not even half way into the action the lights were so dim that I couldn't tell who was who. It was even worse when people were moving it got to the point in which I couldn't even make out what the characters were doing.
Although this being said Public Enemies does have a good plot and more than awesome character development. I was astounded with Johnny Depp's performance as the infamous John Dillinger, Johnny really captured the essence of who John Dillinger was and that was that unpredictability. In one scene he would be a charming well dressed gentleman not afraid to approach a complete stranger and express his feelings. While in another scene he was a merciless unstoppable bank robber who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. But the thing that really blew me away was the humanity that he brought to the giving a very Robin Hood-esk connotation to the role. And the plot was just great we see a determined Melvin Purvis played Christian Bale relentless in his hunt for the Dillinger gang as well as the consequences that followed the John and his gang. All in all I highly recommend that you give Public Enemies a try the next time your at a movie low.
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