Note: Movies are reviewed from a Christian perspective.

Note: All movies and books are rated on a five star scale.

Public Enemies  (2009) ***1/2
 
     I enjoy a good, old fashioned gangster movie every now and then. When I was a kid my dad taped Little Cesar for me and I remember watching it, loving the sound of the "Tommy gun." However, a lot has changed since Edward G. Robinson's day.
     Public Enemies is an old style gangster movie at heart, with a bit more rough language and gratuitous violence thrown in. The movie tells the (semi-factual) tale of John Dillinger, who for a time was "Public Enemy Number One" on the FBI's most wanted list. During the Depression, he tore a path with his gang across the mid-West robbing banks, busting friends out of prison, and shooting it out with the cops. This movie portrays all of that, and more. Johnny Depp is good in the lead role, and strangely likable. I found myself thinking, "even though he's a crook and a murderer, he seems like a pretty nice guy." He even gives his coat to a lady who is cold in one scene. The problem is, she's his hostage. But no need to bring up little details.
     Christian Bale does a decent job as "G man" Melvin Purvis, but he's really not in the movie that much. The rest of the cast is good, but no one, besides Depp, really stands out.
     If you enjoy a rousing, shoot 'em up gangster movie, then you'll probably like Public Enemies. While it's a good movie, it's not the great movie I was hoping for. On a side note, when it comes to Dillinger movies, I prefer the film Dillinger from 1973. Warren Oats (who really looked like the famous criminal) stars, along with the always great Ben Johnson.
 
Objectionable Content: Let me just say, there's a bunch of it! The movie is rated "R" and deserves it. The violence is pretty brutal at times (although, true to life I'm guessing). It's not a movie that just has buckets of blood, but you do see a fair share of bullet holes and bloodied men dying during shoot-outs. There is some sensuality, but no nudity. The surprising point was that there is not nearly as much profanity as I expected. Mob movies have a tendency to drop the "f bomb" every other word (Goodfellas comes to mind). However, it only appears once in this film. There is some milder profanity. Most offensive is the fact that God's name is misused about ten times or so. This film is not appropriate for children or younger teens.
 
Spiritual Content: None to speak of. However, this movie illustrates perfectly the words Jesus spoke when He said, "Those who live by the sword die by the sword." This movie portrays violent men meeting horrible, violent ends.
     There is a scene where Dillinger states, "I don't think about where I've been, just where I'm going." The character thought he was on the fast track to getting rich, and was heading for wealth. After hearing the line I thought sadly, I know where John Dillinger was going, and what  a wasted life and wasted potential!