After dividing audiences with his borderline experimental mood-piece update of Miami Vice, Michael Mann is back with his take on the John Dillinger story. Compared to his last film, this looks like a frankly conventional and commercial project- at least, as commercial as a tommy-guns and fedoras movie can be nowadays. But some quibbles aside (I’m not sold on the suitability of the digital gloss for this particular project), Public Enemies looks pretty promising. Depp is an interesting choice for the crime legend (fifteen years ago, who could have imagined him headlining a movie like this?), and I like Bale more when he’s freed from the burden of carrying a movie and can instead unleash his inner character actor. There has been some negative buzz surrounding early screenings of Public Enemies, but I’ve learned that it’s best to give Mann the benefit of the doubt.