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Movie Preview

By VR Bryant

It seems like it was a year ago that I caught the trailer for "Public Enemies" in the theater. Can't remember now what movie I was there to see, nor does it matter. The star power alone was enough to make an indelible mark; the subject matter was the icing on the cake.

Gangster films are not for everybody, of course. You know who you are. You're out there, wearing your traveling pants, fantasizing about getting felt up by fresh-faced vampires. And bless your heart, maybe Christian Bale and Johnny Depp in the same movie is enough to draw you in to the genre.

I think of "The Godfather," I think of "The Untouchables," and I think of "Miller's Crossing." And then I think, "They'd better not screw this up."

"Public Enemies" is the story of 1930s gangsters, with John Dillinger (Depp) at the forefront. Baby Face Nelson, John 'Red' Hamilton, and Homer Van Meter - known members of "the second Dillinger gang" - all make the billing.

Playing for the 'good guys' (rubbish!), the aforementioned Bale portrays famed lawman Melvin Purvis, while that asshole J. Edgar Hoover is brought to life by one Billy Crudup ("Almost Famous," "Watchmen").

Director Michael Mann ("Heat," "The Last of the Mohicans") is at the helm, which, as his four Oscar nods will support, is a good thing.

Normally, when there's this level of hubbub surrounding a release, I get pretty skeptical. Surely such grandiose plans are destined for failure, I'd say. This time, though, I have different feelings. I get the sense that there's something good brewing here-that like Bale's last major project (that one that grossed $0.5 billion domestic), "Public Enemies" will be able to catch credibility in a jar like a lightning bug and parlay it into legitimate cinematic success.

It helps, of course, that it's already hit some American screens, and that the response has been positive, if not effusive. I wouldn't be so crass as to suggest that "Enemies" has a real chance to unseat any of those three gangster classics (certainly not the lattermost), but I remain optimistic.

If nothing else, Johnny Depp is taking the screen as the wicked hero-I defy you to not be drawn to his aura. And yes, I am straight.

"Public Enemies" opens this Wednesday. Not Friday. Friday premieres are so 2008.

Originally Published: July 1, 2009

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