MADISON, Wis. -- Although released in the summer season, a time when over-the-top action flicks and bloated blockbusters flood movie screens, the 1930s gangster epic "Public Enemies" isn't typical summer fare.

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Sure, there are big-name stars -- Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard.

But rather than breezy, escapist entertainment, Michael Mann's ambitious film delivers a serious, moody take on "the golden age of bank robbery," a period around 1933-34 when legendary outlaw John Dillinger and other daring gangsters embarked on an unprecedented crime wave of bank robberies, grabbing headlines and becoming folk heroes in the process.

The film also depicts the early days of the FBI, as crime czar J. Edgar Hoover pushes for a national bureau in an effort to stop gangsters like Dillinger who outgunned and eluded local law enforcement agencies.

Hoover (Billy Crudup) appoints agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), a rising star in the bureau, to bring down Dillinger by whatever means necessary. Crudup is fantastic as a somewhat buffoonish and publicity-seeking Hoover, and he really shines in the few scenes he's in.

Purvis' single-minded pursuit of Dillinger (Depp) is the driving force of the movie, and it's a pleasure to watch the two charismatic actors share the screen. In his films, notably "Heat" and "Collateral," Mann is preoccupied with men who are devoted to their work and who execute it with a cool, efficient professionalism, and in this sense he takes the familiar gangster movie genre and internalizes it, infusing Dillinger's story with his own singular vision.

The film opens in 1933 with Dillinger and some of his crew orchestrating a prison break. We're not given any background or context, and those looking for insight into Dillinger's psychology or a deep understanding of what makes him tick will be disappointed. In fact, one of the disarming things about the film is the straightforward way that Dillinger is depicted. The sensational myth of Dillinger looms large, and although Mann somewhat romanticizes Dillinger and frames him with heroic close-ups, Dillinger himself remains defined by the matter-of-fact way he goes about robbing banks and planning the next job.

Depp is mesmerizing as Dillinger. His Dillinger is charming and low-key and perpetually living in the present. Although his associates plan heists that they intend to retire on, Depp's Dillinger subtly communicates the melancholy awareness that living fast and dying young are in the cards.

Bale gives a good effort as the hardworking, decent and steely Purvis, but unfortunately the screenplay by Ronan Bennett, Michael Mann and Ann Biderman doesn't give him much to work with. Under pressure from Hoover, he pursues Dillinger with a single-minded devotion, but there aren't any other angles to his humorless character. It's a shame that Bale, now out from under the Batman costume, wasn't given more of an opportunity to show off his acting chops.

The lovely Cotillard fares better as Dillinger's love interest, Billie Frechette, and her tragic character, in the end, gives the film its emotional weight. Early on, Dillinger notices her as a hatcheck girl and zeros in, and the scenes where he throws everything into winning her over are a delight to watch as Cotillard warms to him.

Of course, being a gangster movie, there is a healthy amount of thrillingly choreographed bank heists and Tommy gun shootouts.

The film's best action sequence is a disastrous nighttime FBI raid at the Little Bohemia lodge in northern Wisconsin, where Dillinger and his gang were holed up and narrowly escape from the FBI. Mann, ever attentive to detail, filmed the scene in Wisconsin at the real lodge where the events actually transpired.

As Purvis and his men move in and stage an assault on the secluded lodge in the woods, Tommy gun fire rips through the night air and the action unfolds with a prolonged intensity that stands up to the L.A. bank heist scene and shootout in "Heat." It's a virtuoso action sequence that shows off Mann's technical mastery as a director and Dante Spinotti's accomplished cinematography.

Notably, the movie was shot on high-definition video and it really gives the movie a unique look and feel. The night scenes, in particular, really pop out at the viewer on digital, and the gun shots flare especially bright, adding an extra intensity to an already tense scene.

Despite the periodic flashes of gangster violence, the film is more slow-burning tension and stylish atmosphere than nonstop action. In the end, the famous, and painstakingly recreated, Biograph Theatre scene is brilliantly executed, and although we know the outcome, the scene still manages to create suspense. Ultimately, Mann succeeds in creating a compelling vision of a distinct time and place in America's history, but he largely leaves it open for audiences to decide how they feel about those events and the people who made them famous.