Release Date:  July 1, 2009
Rating:  R (for gangster violence and some language)
Genre:  Crime/Drama
Run Time:  140 min.
Director:  Michael Mann
Actors:  Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Billy Crudup, Channing Tatum, Emilie de Ravin, Giovanni Ribisi

Probably one of Hollywood’s greatest chameleons, Johnny Depp forgoes his usual oddball character and fully embraces the role of a real-life criminal, who was something of a folk hero in the Great Depression era, in Public Enemies.

As John Dillinger, the highly skilled and dangerous robber who clearly doesn’t mind sticking it to the bank (even if it involves taking out several employees in the process) but never steals from the people, Depp’s mix of bravado, determination and swagger can’t help but make the locals root for him—and he’s the bad guy.

And because the movie is essentially a slice of the last 14 months of Dillinger’s life, rather than a psychological profile of why someone ultimately chooses a life of crime, it’s also easy for the audience to get swept up in his romanticized story.

After serving a nine-year sentence for a petty crime, Dillinger is finally free. But he’s not about to return to a simple civilian life for fear of landing back in handcuffs, so in rather spectacular fashion, he breaks his friends out of prison so they can start their next wave of bank robberies and avoid the police.

Hoping to finally capture Dillinger and lock him up for good (or better yet, execute him) after yet another successful robbery with a high body count to boot, a new FBI crime division has been devised by an opportunistic figurehead named J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup). Since Hoover has never actually made an arrest himself, a fact that’s called his effectiveness as a leader into question, Hoover puts serious pressure on his new agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) to employ increasingly cruel methods to grab Dillinger once and for all.

In the interest of justice being served, Purvis agrees, and so the high-energy, cops-and-robbers chase begins. Of course because Hoover is far more interested in making a name for himself than anything else and doesn’t care about the toll it’s taking on Purvis or anyone else involved, it’s yet another reason to cheer Dillinger on, no matter how bad his deeds.

His suave way of wooing one particular woman certainly doesn’t hurt his cause either. While dining with his buddies, Dillinger notices a beautiful girl named Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard, recent Oscar winner for La Vie En Rose). After she finishes dancing with another guy, he quickly moves in. While we’re not exactly sure why he comes on to her like gangbusters, she’s a little reluctant about his fast and furious pursuit. Only mere minutes after meeting, he flat out admits he’s a bank robber and asks her to come away with him for an adventure.