What better holiday weekend cinematic fare than having guns, explosions, and the incredible acting skill of Johnny Depp?  Right?  Well, you’ll get all of the aforementioned in Public Enemies, however, all three do not make this movie as great as you would like. Public Enemies is a story about notorious bank robber, John DIllinger (Depp) and his love for Billie Frechette played by Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard and the impossibility of that love, all things considered.  Dillinger was Public Enemy number one to the United States, but also other crime syndicates, considering the heat his actions brought to the forefront.

Overall, the movie is only okay, but at times it seemed a bit too slow and if you’re the type that gets nauseous with shaky camera scenes, be forewarned.  Understand, this is a Michael Mann-directed film, so there will be a lot of pore-revealing close-ups, which actually humanizes the actors, and handheld type shots.  The acting is good, particularly from Depp, Cotillard, and Christian Bale, who does a way better job than he did in The Dark Knight.  In any case, the problem with the movie is that it didn’t strike a good mix between the love story and the bad deeds of Dillinger or establish certain characters and why we should care for them.

That said, the movie was a bit too long and could have been shorter if the movie decided which angle to tackle more at certain points.  For example, you don’t really believe in the love story until towards the very end, which does have a sequence of scenes that will leave you thinking that this is a very good movie and will pull on your heartstrings.  However, is the two hour set-up worth it?  Fans of Depp won’t mind, but if you’re on the fence on seeing the movie, skip it and wait for it to come out on DVD.

Rating: Two out of Four stars.