The Last Movie I Saw

Michael Mann's new movie Public Enemies seems to have something, actually several things, on its mind, but doesn't really spend enough time on any of them to amount to much. Johnny Depp's performance as John Dillinger gives the film an excellent center, and the themes spun off this tale of the notorious outlaw's latter years all merit consideration and development, but for some reason Mann does little more than introduce them before diving back into a pretty mundane love story that, frankly, is the least interesting of all the various plot elements. These include themes of criminal celebrity, abuses of government power (even touching on the current torture debate), politicalization of crimefighting, and a few more. The film (like all of Mann's work) looks great, and the period detail adds to its visual appeal. But if you're going to make the pretense of offering something more than a "shoot'em up," then please follow through instead of letting those ideas wither away when the bullets fly. There's no reason to expect more from a summer blockbuster than the action set pieces that are plentiful here; but if you're going to tantalize the more discerning part of the audience with hints of something more substantial, please deliver the goods on that score too. Otherwise, the movie feels flat, as this one does, when it had the potential to be so much more.