NO other film-maker has explored the psyches of people caught in extreme circumstances with the dominating consistency and cinematic power of acclaimed American director, Michael Mann writes Conor Nolan.

For more than 30 years Mann has remained one of cinema's most compelling film-makers, and his level of artistry has created an indelible influence on the medium.

From Thief, Manhunter, Ali and Heat to The Last of the Mohicans and The Insider, as well as Collateral and Miami Vice, his lasting dramas have brought to the screen a series of tough, iconic figures embodied by the most commanding actors of our time.

Now, in his most ambitious and timely project to date, the seminal gangster saga Public Enemies, Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard in the story of the fast and dangerous life of John Dillinger.

No one could stop Dillinger and his gang. No jail could hold him. His charm and audacious jailbreaks endeared him to almost everyone — from his girlfriend Billie Frechette (Cotillard) to Americans who were looking for a symbol to divert them from their everyday hardships.

They found it in the man who took from the banks the monies they felt the banks had wrongly taken from them.

But while the adventures of Dillinger's gang thrilled many, J Edgar Hoover planned to exploit the outlaw's capture as a way to elevate his Bureau of Investigation into the national police force that became the FBI.

He made Dillinger America's first Public Enemy Number One and sent in G Man Melvin Purvis (Bale) to capture him.

However, Dillinger and his gang outwitted and outgunned Purvis's men every step of the way.

Drawn back to the very city where his obsession with both Frechette and bank robbing began, Dillinger, for once and for all, ended this pursuit by Purvis.

And when all was said and done, the entire country learned that with the death of one of its heroes came the birth of a legend.

Public Enemies is not the cinematic masterpiece I was expecting — I found it to be a very cold, clinical film that actually tries to glamorise Dillinger, who was after all nothing more than a violent bank robber.

Mann does make the film look sumptuous, both in terms of look, feel, style and texture but what he neglects to do is imbue it with heart and soul — the genuine passion that existed in his tale of Hawkeye is sadly lacking and the emotional intensity of say The Insider would have aided Public Enemies well.

All told, there is a lot to enjoy in this epic crime drama but it is not this summer's adult blockbuster I was truly hoping for.

A great shame really!

Rating: 3 stars

Cert: 15

Web: www.publicenemies.net

Duration: 139 mins