Just returned from seeing “Public Enemies,” Michael Mann’s take on the John Dillinger story. And as someone who has seen the Dillinger story a dozen or so times, I have to say that the film doesn’t add much to the tale.

Like most of Mann’s films, though, “Public Enemies” is atmospheric. As much as I may be tired of hand-held cameras and close-ups that show every single pore of an actor’s face, I still think that Mann can draw you into his films as well as any director working today.

And the performances that he got out of his cast were uniformly superb. Johnny Depp proved to be a good choice for the bank robber Dillinger, and Christian Bale is solid as Melvin Purvis, the man who ended up nailing the outlaw outside a Chicago movie theater. Mario Cotillard, the French actress and Oscar winner for “La Vie en Rose,” adds a touch of compassion as Dillinger’s true love.

The story is what’s at fault. Maybe I’m too much of a literalist, but I like stories that give some indication of why characters act the way they do. “Public Enemies” settles for the clichﾎ that Dillinger was a born badass, the guy who wanted what he wanted and wanted it now. No bad childhood (or barely a reference to one), no need to play Robin Hood, etc. Just take the money and run.

Hell, Arthur Penn gave us more than that way back in 1967’s “Bonnie and Clyde when he told the story of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.

Oh, yeah, I’m not a literalist. I’m a traditionalist. Much better.