10. Public Enemies (2009)
Based on Bryan Burroughs non-fictional book of the same name, the film chronicles the crime life of well known bank robber John Dillinger, during the crime wave of the 30s. This should have been a slam dunk, with the likes of Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and Marion Cotillard in the leads, and Michael Mann in the directors chair. It appeared that we were going to get an entertaining retelling of a classic American tale through the visceral direction of the man who gave us classics like Heat. Alas, this was not to be, as the film ended up being a slow moving, dull film with the occasional burst of gunfire. Michael Manns decision to make the film with digital cameras certainly did not help. With contemporary films their fine, but with period pieces, the more traditional camera would have been better. I really wanted to like this film because it had the makings to become a fantastic film. The history its based on is also something many viewers would be eager to watch. The pieces just didnt fit together well enough. The book it is based upon on not only focuses on Dillinger, but also the rest of the gangsters of the era such as Bonnie and Clyde, Machine Gun Kelly, and Baby Face Nelson among others. It also includes an integral history on the formation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in response to the crime wave. Now think about how good of a television show would have resulted had they used the entire book as the source material. There are endless tales of crime, corruption, violence and intrigue that it would be enough to stuff five seasons already. It would have been the intense gangster drama that everyone is talking about today. It wouldve been the Boardwalk Empire before Boardwalk Empire.