FIRST LOOK

First Look: Christian Bale and Johnny Depp in Public Enemies

by Alex Billington
November 28, 2008
Source: Empire

Give or take Miami Vice, Michael Mann is usually a very solid director. His next project is one called Public Enemies, about the real story of notorious American gangster John Dillinger and his FBI pursuer Melvin Purvis in the 1930s. Think of it as something like The Untouchables, except set in the 1930's and told from the side of the bad guys. It's being described as somewhat like Heat II, which could mean a lot of good things and a lot of bad things (do we really need more sequels?). However you look at it, with the debut of these two new photos from Empire today, I think it shows we don't we have much to be worried about at all. While they're fairly simple shots, they look great so far, and we haven't even seen any footage yet either.

On the left you'll see Johnny Depp as gangster John Dillinger, nicknamed the "Jackrabbit" for the way he leaped over counters during bank heists. On the right you'll see Christian Bale as FBI agent Melvin Purvis, known for capturing more "public enemies" than anyone in history and eventually taking down Dillinger.

If you're liking the way these look, you might as well head back and check out the batch of photos taken while Public Enemies was shooting in Wisconsin in March. The shots aren't as clear as these, but you can see Depp robbing a bank with tommy gun and money bag in hand. The more and more I see of this, the more excited I get. I just have the feeling that Public Enemies could turn out as legendary as The Untouchables, but with some extra grit thanks to Michael Mann and both Depp and Bale. Also in the cast are Channing Tatum, Giovanni Ribisi, David Wenham, Leelee Sobieski, Marion Cotillard, and Billy Crudup as J. Edgar Hoover. Public Enemies is slated to hit theaters on July 1st, 2009 next summer.

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