The film is very much what you’d expect from the synopsis: “the Feds trying to take down notorious American gangsters.”  Old timey suits, old timey cars, and old timey tommy guns (Colt M1921AC Thompson) going off at people wearing new timey squibs.

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Maybe I was in the wrong mindset to watch John Dillinger do his thing, but I was relieved to see the courtroom twenty minutes in and excited to watch a legal battle federalizing criminal manhunts.  I was then disappointed to realize we wouldn’t be spending much time inside a courtroom during the next 2 hours and 5 minutes.  At least there was a cat and mouse chase to watch.

[Yes, I was looking at the time.  This is both a habit from writing papers and a sign that I’m not completely engrossed in the film.]

Compared to its 1930s crime counterpart Public Enemies falls short.  When faced with the opportunity to be completely amazing or just another mediocre DVD to forget about, it chose the latter.  The documentary feel was an interesting approach, but didn’t work and became boring early on.  It created no more of an emotional attachment to characters then a reenactment on a bad crime show.  The composer saved the film a little bit.  The score informed me the most about what I Was supposed to be feeling at any given moment.  But besides the score, sets, and costume there is little worth watching.

The film picks up every once in a while, but it doesn’t hold and the payoff is minimal.  The story is worth knowing as part of our history, but should be learned in some other, any other, way.  If you need your old timey crime fix, check out The Untouchables (1987).  In fact, even if you’re not looking to specifically watch a crime drama sit down to The Untouchables.  It’s that good.

“What keeps you up nights, Mr. Dillinger?”  “Coffee.”