Gangster Squad
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, and Sean Penn
Rated R for strong violence and language.
Gangster Squad is inspired by a true story about the manhunt for gangster Mickey Cohen. According to the film, the Los Angeles Police Department is fed up with the city's acceptance of an East Coast thug running the town, so a police unit is formed to wage war on Mickey Cohen and his illegal activities. This police unit's actions will be kept off the record and if they are discovered the city will deny knowledge of their mission.
Enter Josh Brolin as a World War II vet who only knows how to fight a war. He recruits a team of incorruptible cops and they begin creating havoc for Cohen, played by Sean Penn.
The cinematography and slow-motion gunfights give the film a more comic book feel than an actual account of history. The action is very stylized and entertaining. The film's strengths are its cast of great actors. Brolin seems to be at home playing an angry cop and Ryan Gosling puts in as much as he can into his somewhat dull character. Gosling and fellow Crazy, Stupid, Love costar Emma Stone have great chemistry together. Here's hoping they pair up for a third time on screen. Sean Penn is one of today's finest actors and he seems to be enjoying himself in this role as a villain, though he tries a little too hard at times.
What is weak about the film is its predictability. I am willing to concede that I have seen one too many movies, but even so I can still find myself surprised by a film's plot. Not here. Everything that happened could be seen coming twenty minutes ahead. I am convinced that screenwriter Will Beall used the plot of The Untouchables as his template here. Gangster Squad failed to have any element of surprise as opposed to the fantastic L.A. Confidential which left you guessing who was good or bad and who would live or die.
If you need some pretty mindless gangster action then this may be just what you are looking for. It is not worth much more than that.
RATING: B-
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