Rating of
3/4
Effective, Though Sometimes Shallow Gangster Epic
mitchellyoung - wrote on 06/13/11
Gangland Chicago is lovingly created in this epic from Michael Mann that speeds along with a tense energy that reflects the two opposing sides of FBI and gangsters. I wish the character of John Dillinger had more depth; Johnny Depp plays him as an imposing force with a melancholy side, but, I never felt like I was seeing that deeply into his psyche. The robbery and gunfight scenes are impressive and the cat-and-mouse lifestyle that Dillinger finds himself falling into is made very plain. The film adopts some of the same paranoid atmosphere of Goodfellas, right near the end, when you know Dillinger is about to be caught, but I don't think it fully achieves the exposition of mental breakdown that that fantastic film gets. That said, with a cast and crew this fine, you can't but expect a film of entertaining and thought-provoking proportions and the film, for the most part, delivers.
