9 Smart Movies That Tricked Us Into Rooting For The Bad Guys

5. It's Johnny Freaking Depp - John Dillinger In Public Enemies

Despite getting pretty positive buzz on release Public Enemies has fallen into obscurity. Even though I like the film, I'll freely admit Michael Mann was much more interested in perfectly recreating 1930's America and shooting it in a pretty way than crafting an engaging narrative. This can be shown best when the film's biggest emotional trick - getting the audience to empathise with John Dillinger - has nothing to do with his screenplay.

From the moment he walks into the perfectly positioned frame everyone is with Johnny Depp. He was, at least in 2010, such a likeable screen presence that even with that snarl you can't help but want to see him succeed. While he goes through robbing banks (with a very shaky moral justification) and Christian Bale snaps at his heels you deep down still want him to get away.

That's how powerful a personality Depp was; he makes us root against Batman. If anything this is a weakness in the film; it's very clearly meant to be a moral story that doesn't try and commend the criminals like Lawless a couple of years later overtly did, and yet with the casting that's exactly what happens. Maybe it was this mixed message that has stopped it remaining in audience's thoughts.