I will begin with a brief review : Michael Mann’s Public Enemies (2009) is a completely unexceptional crime thriller.  Its characters are extremely simplistic, its engagement with historical or social context is minimal, its writing is functional, its performances are adequate (with the exception of Stephen Graham as Baby-Face Nelson) and its pacing slightly saggy but ultimately reasonable.  Much like Mann’s Heat (1995), it is a film best remembered for one beautifully staged shoot-out.  However, despite having nothing to say and failing for all of the thematic reasons that Richard Kovitch mentions in his review, the film does do one thing well : It provides a fantastic justification for the roll-out of digital projection.

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