Public Enemies deets

Isn’t it terrific that Johnny Depp and Christian Bale have signed on to star in Michael Mann’s 30s-era gangster opus PUBLIC ENEMIES? Depp is playing notorious bank robber John Dillinger and Christian Bale will play Mervin Purvis, the man who tracks him down. The picture is based on the book Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 and now the good people at Latino Review have seen the script and have story details that gives all of us Depp/Bale/Mann fans—so basically every human—a reason to salivate.

According to their source, it won’t be a straight-up biopic of Dillinger, but as the title indicates, a story about the birth of the FBI. Think CATCH ME IF YOU CAN meets THE GOOD SHEPHERD. It will also focus on Dillinger’s desperation as his ways ‘become obsolete.’ Here’s some unspoilerish reaction to the script: “We have a great, twisting plot that balances Dillinger’s crime story and his love affair [with a young girl named Billie] with the overall picture of organized crime in the 1930s and how the government was trying to stop it.”

They also mentioned fantastic action sequences (a given with Mann), slick dialogue, and well-written characters. This won’t be released until 2009, but if this isn’t on your radar then it’s broken. Check out the rest of the article HERE.