I like Johnny Depp and I like Christian Bale and I like movies where color is important. Depp and Bale perform adequately, each putting forth the requisite amount of arrogance required for their role, and each demonstrating the requisite amount "doesn't quite see the big picture". Depp as a gangster seems to actually believe that the public is on his side, perhaps viewing himself as a modern day Robin Hood who isn't really bothered with giving money back to the poor. Bale reprises Kevin Costner's role from The Untouchables and seems to have difficulty drawing lines of ethics in Hoovers budding FBI, all the while not realizing that breaches of ethics will always come back to haunt you. But the filming of this 30's drama is beautiful. Emphasized by the [overly?] dramatic scenes at night when light is needed for the press cameras, police lite flares and hold them in the air. The sepia coloring here is amazing and seems to slow down the action. I don't know if the scenes are actually slowed down, but they felt that way. And the metal spoon on a metal trash can pop of the Gatling guns was more ear damaging that most shoot-em-up films, giving a sense of the closeness and danger of the gun battles that is often lost. So while we lose the fact that Depp is really a pretty bad guy posing as hero, I enjoyed this summer diversion a bit more than I expected.
3-stars (out of 5)
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