I was hoping this would be a great movie, but it's boring, boring, boring. White Heat is so much better.
"Worthington, we're being attacked by giant bats!"
It started out great, I would have rather watched a film about those children.
The rest was rather dull. I'm not crazy about the episodic nature of it either.
The pre-code elements and some great shots/images make it interesting enough to watch though. Not exactly something I would call a great film.
7/10
Oh yeah?
Name me a better movie with a "grapefruit scene" like this one has. Ya can't, can ya?
While I prefer White Heat, too, I still think The Public Enemy is a great movie. It's kind of an acquired taste, though. Part of the appeal of The Public Enemy is its small scale/realism. It's like a peek into the life of your average gang enforcer during the early days of Prohibition. It's not about the big crime lords, like some other famous mob movies. The grapefruit scene is amazing, too. I'd give the picture an 8/10, but its position of my FlickChart (it being my 84th favorite film) says I should give it a 9.5/10. In comparison, White Heat is currently my 49th favorite movie and I'd give it an 8/10, although FlickChart says I should give it a 9.7/10.
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