NOBODY does gunplay better than Michael Mann and it's the exchange of bullets that you'll remember most after watching Public Enemies.

In Mann's masterwork, Heat, he orchestrated a street shoot-out that set a new standard and his latest movie is at its best when John Dillinger and his cohorts are trying to blast their way past the FBI.

Dillinger (Johnny Depp) was public enemy number one in 1930s America, topping a list of most wanted gangsters that also included Pretty Boy Floyd and Babyface Nelson.

Dillinger robbed more than a dozen banks, staged two jail breaks and murdered several police officers in a violent career that grabbed the news headlines.

And yet, in the Depression era, he was somewhat of a folk hero, giving bank customers their cash back, being chivalrous towards women and earning the nickname Jackrabbit for his grace and athleticism.

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The gangsters at the time had faster cars; more high-powered weapons and better organisation than the overworked, undermanned local law enforcers whose jurisdiction ran out at state lines.

But J Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) and his fledgling Federal Bureau of Investigation planned to turn the tide and agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) had the steely determination required to get the job done.

Michael Mann, who also gave us Miami Vice and Collateral, is back on familiar themes here and only the period trappings are changed from the cat and mouse games we saw in Heat.

But, unlike the De Niro-Pacino movie, there's no great duel of personalities this time.

Bale is a dogged but rather cold cop; meaning that Dillinger always has centre stage.

Depp (a good choice for the role) plays the myth more than the man, giving us a gangster who oozes charm even when he's being ruthless.

"I like robbing banks, fast cars, whiskey and you – what more to you need to know?" he asks coat-check girl Billie (Marion Cotillard) after deciding to make her his lover.

But the man behind the headlines remains a mystery – the script raises questions of an abused childhood but what made and drove the real Dillinger isn't on the agenda.

It means that Mann's film isn't quite as great as we might have hoped.

The film is beautifully orchestrated and made with outstanding technical proficiency but it's not quite a classic.

Still, its intelligence and quality hallmark are still likely to make it stand out in a summer season that has so far been desperately short of such virtues.

Nigel Powlson

PUBLIC ENEMIES

Certificate: 15

Running time: 139 mins

Starts: Today at the Showcase, Quad, Cinema De Lux and Odeon in Derby and Cineworld in Burton.

RATING: 4/5