Public Enemies

[Laderlappen]

WTF?! Is this true?

Baby Face Nelson was the ballinest baller who ever balled/lived. He killed more FBI agents than anyone in history. He was the last one to die! He got shot 17 times and was able to get away.


That's some prime bullcrap right there.

He's not playing Baby Face Nelson, he's playing Pretty Boy Floyd. And the movie is not about these 2 guys.

 

[Dark Donnie]

...

 

[Nivek]

Anyone ever see the Dillinger display at the J. Edger Hoover FBI building in DC? They have his death cast, the fake gun he made (or a replica) that he used to break out of jail. He was also one of the first criminal who tried to beat the recent technology by trying to eliminate his fingerprints (I think he tried burning them off with acid), and having early plastic surgery done to change his features.

I like Depp as Dillinger 9he fits the whole dashing criminal thing), but seeing Bale as Pervis is pretty funny since Pervis was a little guy under 6 ft. tall. And Hoover made sure to ruin his life so he could be the one in the limelight.

 

[Symbiotic]

It's not Nelson that dies in that act, it's Sugartits Gibson.

 

[Captain Planet!]

He's not playing Baby Face Nelson, he's playing Pretty Boy Floyd.

Oh. I was under the impression he was playing Baby Face Nelson. Sorry.

And the movie is not about these 2 guys.

Well, just because the movie doesn't focus on those characters doesn't mean they don't have to try to be historically accurate.

 

[Laderlappen]

Oh. I was under the impression he was playing Baby Face Nelson. Sorry.


Well, just because the movie doesn't focus on those characters doesn't mean they don't have to try to be historically accurate.

What?

 

[Captain Planet!]

What?

This review bothered me.

*Spoilers*

Spoiler

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1152836/board/flat/126009656

They show Baby Face Nelson die, then Homer Van Meter, and finally John Dillinger. John Dillinger was killed before both of them. The last one to die out of the three was Baby Face Nelson. Not only do the writers not know when they died, but they also don't know how they died. Baby Face Nelson was not killed after he escaped from Little Bohemia in a robe. Homer Van Meter was not killed by farmers with shot guns. Homer Van Meter was cornered by the police in St. Paul and gunned down with machine guns. Another member of Dillinger's gang, Harry Pierpont is shown being shot by police in this movie. Pierpont wasn't shot. Harry Pierpont was captured and sentenced to die in the electric chair. Let me also add that Channing Tatum's portrayal of Baby Face Nelson is pathetic. There's a scene where he attacks Dillinger and then gets a bad beating. While Dillinger was beating him he was crying like a baby and screaming, "Leave me alone!" Baby Face Nelson and John Dillinger never fought. Maybe Dillinger didn't agree with Nelson's bank robbing methods, but they never fought. Nelson also never cried like a little girl while getting beaten. They keep calling him Lester "Baby Face" Nelson. He was never in his life known by that name. Nelson's real name was Lester Gillis and he changed his name to George Nelson. The black guy that escaped from jail with Dillinger was Herbert Youngblood, but in this movie he is known as Reed Youngblood. John Milius doesn't know anything. Where the hell did John Milius get his information? I could probably make a better movie than him.

Finally the way they showed John Dillinger die is outrageous and inexcusable. The movie shows Dillinger walk out of the Biograph with the Lady in Red and his girlfriend Billie Frechette. By the way, Billie Frechette wasn't even there that night. But a girl named Polly Hamilton was. Melvin Purvis yells, 'Johnny!' Dillinger pulls out his gun and is blown to hell. It is a proved fact that Dillinger did not have a gun that night. The FBI gave him no chance to surrender and as soon as he was in sight they blew him away. They didn't even have to shoot him. They were so close that powder burns were found on his face. It was murder. They also say that the man killed that night was not John Dillinger. After killing tons of civilians in the Little Bohemia incident can you imagine the FBI reporting that they had just killed another innocent unarmed man? The gun they had on display that was supposedly on Dillinger was also proved not to have been manufactured until after Dillinger's death. I could go on and on how the man they killed wasn't John Dillinger, but I'll stop here. If you would like to know more check it out here.

Some other problems. Overly dramatic pauses between sentences, random shots of surrounding scenery that wasn't needed for storytelling plus over-the-top acting of bit players and supporting actors was reminiscent of the backyard camcorder directors of the late 1980's - I was left wondering who was in charge of this film during production and during post-production. The playing of music in most two shots and close-ups and then suddenly stopping in wide shots overly emphasized a weak musical score. No sound editing was drastically apparent as the bulk of the film was gunshots, doors, footsteps and dialogue (a style used in the late 60's through the mid-70's by new directors) but lacking background noise causing it to seem artificial - particularly the tire squeaks on dirt roads. In my honest opinion the biggest problem of all is there are no 'likeable' characters for the audience to route for nor were we lead to see as the protagonists of the story. Neither the gangsters nor the lawmen were characters I wanted to see win and neither were focused on as the 'hero'- a necessity for any story to work for me. We know from Penn's and Hill's movies who the 'heroes' are. Even though they are criminals, we like them and want to see them get away. I could care less who was on the screen in this film. I got the impression that Michael Mann was trying to give off a non-historically accurate reenactment documentary of the events surrounding John Dillenger's life from June 1933 to July 1934 (his death).

 

[Laderlappen]

Im not reading that.

 

[Threshold]

That does seem a little weird that they would severely change history just to throw an action scene up at the front of the film. Very odd...

 

[BestGirl]

That does seem a little weird that they would severely change history just to throw an action scene up at the front of the film. Very odd...

Are you talking about

Spoiler

Pretty Boy Floyd being killed in the film's opening scene? Maybe they're setting the tone for what Dillinger can expect to happen to him. My problem with it is that Floyd was actually killed a few months after Dillinger.

I would've preferred to see the opening scene involve the arrest of Machine Gun Kelly. Kelly's famous (just for his nickname) and his arrest happened in '33, the same time Dillinger's career was just getting started, so it fits the timeline better. If his arrest wasn't dramatic enough they could've changed history to have him shot and I wouldnt've minded.

 

[Laderlappen]

Is that the complain? That [BLACKOUT]Floyd is killed after Dillinger in the movie[/BLACKOUT]? Why does it matter [BLACKOUT]that he is killed after or before[/BLACKOUT]?

 

[Threshold]

Cause it's what happened...?

 

[Laderlappen]

Does it really matter? It is a very minor thing. Heck its not even part of the story.

 

[Darkness Falls]

Where's the trailer already

the oscar clip was the most epic part of the whole end credits

 

[Captain Planet!]

Does it really matter? It is a very minor thing. Heck its not even part of the story.

Everything in the movie is a part of the story, and it matters because it's a true story. A true story of men's lives and men's deaths. To change the deaths when they are already fit for a movie is just stupid.

 

[Cmill216]

the oscar clip was the most epic part of the entire ceremony

Edited for accuracy.

 

[PWN3R]

Edited for accuracy.

You high? Jackman's opening was easily the highlight of the night. So quotable too.

 

[Ziggyman]

Still want to hear Marion speak...She has a really thick accent...!

 

[Cmill216]

You high? Jackman's opening was easily the highlight of the night. So quotable too.

Yeah....not really.

 

[PWN3R]

Great, 'holier than thou' response. Clearly gifted at those cmill

 

[Cmill216]

I don't know, dude. You're the one who asks me if I'm high because I don't share the same opinion as you.

If that's not holier than thou, I don't know what is.

 

[PWN3R]

Just saying Hugh, or whoever wrote his lyrics, called out the academy straight up for not nominating TDK. All that in the first 5 minutes.

That's not awesome to you?

 

[Cmill216]

I didn't say it wasn't good. I laughed out loud at the "no one saw The Reader" jab. I just didn't think it was all that golden. It's been done before.

 

[PWN3R]

And the clip with upcoming movies with no dialogue was better for you? Well, ok then. Clearly you and I see differently.

The reader bit was the truth.

 

[Cmill216]

Honestly, the clip barrage was one of the slickest things I've ever seen the Oscars do, and this is coming from someone who's watched every ceremony in the past 10-15 years.

Rewarding the "best" in 2008, and then showing us a glimpse into the future. I mean, the show was lean and efficient, and completely forgettable. But the clips got me pretty pumped up for the new year in cinema. And the Public Enemies footage was easily the highlight.