Hollywood loves gangsters and such gangster flicks as “Little Caesar,” “Scarface” and “Bonnie and Clyde” are considered classics. The lives of many other gangsters have also been filmed like Al Capone, Baby Face Nelson, Ma Barker, Machine Gun Kelly and John Dillinger, all presented as examples of the American Dream gone wrong.

“Public Enemies” now re-tells the story of John Dillinger, viewed by the public as a Robin Hood-like figure during the time of the Great Depression, based on factual information from the non-fiction book of Bryan Burrough with the same title. It starts in 1933 with Dillinger’s daring escape from a prison in Lima, which is a famous prison break act in the life of Dillinger. He’s already a notorious gangster by then and his most well known robberies have already happened. After his jailbreak, he heads to Chicago with his gang and the mob offers him protection. It is at this time that he gets involved with a French-American Indian coat check girl, Billie Frechette (French actress Marion Cotillard who won the Oscar best actress award as Edith Piaf).

The equally famous FBI boss of the era, J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup), becomes obsessed in getting him and appoints his chief henchman to arrest him. This is the legendary FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), a G-Man who uses unconventional ways to pin down wanted criminals, like wiretapes and harrassment. His efforts are indeed violent and bloody, but also not that effective, so he soon brings in a group of tough Texas Rangers like Charles Winstead (Stephen Lang) to help him. He succeeds in nailing Dillinger again and, this time, the bank robber is imprisoned in Crown Pointe, a maximum security jail that is considered escape-proof.

But again, Dillinger succeeds to escape, using only a fake gun and the stolen personal car of the town’s sheriff. He goes back to Chicago but discovers that things have changed. The mob is now run by a different boss who considers Dillinger as someone who’s not really that beneficial to their nefarious activities. Soon, they are even conspiring against him. Dillinger romances Billie again but their romance has become stormy.

Becoming more and more isolated, Dillinger has no choice but to join forces with other shady characters like Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham). Then the long arm of the law catches up with him at Chicago’s Biograph Theater where he’s brutally gunned down after watching a Clark Gable movie.

Johnny Depp, sporting a scar and a moustache, discards his costumes as Pirate Jack Sparrow and Barber Sweeney Todd to give another compelling performance as 1930’s bank robber John Dillinger with ease who’s motivated by love and compulsion. After he’s captured, he’s presented to the media and he turns it into his own press conference. The film’s director, Michael Mann (“Heat,” “Collateral,” “Miami Vice”), takes Dillinger’s side and sympathizes with him, presenting J. Edgar Hoover as a power hungry government exec who just used him as America’s Public Enemy No. 1 mainly to expand his own powers as boss of the newly created FBI.

In contrast, Agent Purvis is portrayed as a mere stereotype of the overly serious lawman who’s just out to accomplish his job at all cost. Since his character is thinly drawn, Bale plays a mere supporting role and is once again upstaged by his co-star, just like what the late Heath Ledger did to him in “Dark Night” and Sam Worthington in “Terminator Salvation.” Marion Cotillard shines more and manages to steal some scenes as her interpretation of Billie is so fascinating that it’s understandable why a criminal like Dillinger gets enchanted by her. Giving superlative support is Billy Crudup as the FBI boss.

Mann uses great period production design, sleek cars of the era, old songs (“Bye Bye Blackbird,” “Oh My Man”), plus blazing gunfights often shot with handheld cameras (the extended shootout at a country lodge is the most spectacular), to come up with a terrific and absorbing crime drama that runs for two hours and 20 minutes. We’ve seen several past versions of “Dillinger” on screen, the most memorable being those starring Warren Oates and Nick Adams. Bryan Burrough, author of the book on which "Public Enemies” is based, has acknowledged that this interpretation is the most factual telling of Dillinger’s story ever on screen. This is indeed quite a big compliment for this film.