Public Enemies: It stars Johnny Depp, what else do you need to know?

I have to confess, I came into Public Enemies hoping to see another Heat (one of the best crime dramas ever made, which was directed by Michael Mann), this one set in the 1930's gangster era. With two strong actors in the lead roles (Johnny Depp and Christian Bale) and the man behind films like Collateral, The Last of the Mohicans and Manhunter (Miami Vice really shouldn't be counted in the canon of Mann) doing the directing, my expectations were high.

For those of you unaware, Public Enemies tells the story of notorious bank robber John Dillinger and Melvin Purvis, the FBI agent tasked with bringing an end to his reign of terror. The film certainly delivered the same kind of intense action that most Mann films are known for, with tommy guns and BAR's blazing every time Dillinger and his gang were holding up a bank or shooting it out with the Feds. Johnny Depp absolutely killed it as Dillinger, turning a true life criminal into a sympathetic anti - hero whom you not only rooted for and cared about but wanted to see survive until the last reel. Part of that has to do with the love story between Dillinger and Billie Frechette (played by Marion Cotillard). We learn that she is cut from the same cloth as Dillinger (raised in a broken home, never really done much of anything with her life) and, due to that kindred nature, she is able to bring out a side of him that makes him human. Sure the love story sub-plot is a tad clunky but it gives Depp the time and space to create a wholly realized character, a character whose every action exuded cool, confidence and believability.

Unfortunately, it dragged in the parts where Depp was not on the screen. Christian Bale's Purvis certainly did not help the cause for he seemed to bring little to no energy to the fray. He was more uptight and straight laced than a librarian on a Tuesday afternoon (it figures, the one time his now infamous temper should be on display, he holds back). The result is that your interest wanes when he and the rest of his G-Men are sharpening their sticks in the office trying to come up with new ways to stop Public Enemy #1.

It's true, Public Enemies is no Heat, but Depp and Mann make it a welcome break from all those big, loud and dumb summer blockbusters currently littering the multiplexes.

Grade: B