Here Comes the Gangster Squad

Gangster Squad is based on the story of Los Angeles Police Department officers and detectives who form a group called the “Gangster Squad Unit”. The group, led by two sergeants (Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling), works together in an effort to take down the ruthless mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) in post-World War II Los Angeles.

This gangster movie is style over substance at its finest, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. Some people will want more depth because there are gangster films with more depth, but Gangster Squad is just an all out action movie. Once again, Sean Penn steals the show as real life gangster Mickey Cohen. He is a ruthless and power hungry madman with an ice-cold heart, and Penn plays him excellently. I also love how well the movie portrays 1940’s Los Angeles. There are some movies where the set pieces look out of place. In Gangster Squad the set designers get every last detail right from the classic cars and clothing attire to the glamorous nightclubs and hotels.

However, this movie is incredibly cliché and predictable. You can easily tell what is going to happen next. Like all gangster movies this film is violent, but I noticed that this one is excessively violent and bloody, which might turn off some people. The romantic subplot between Gosling and Mickey Cohen’s redheaded mistress Grace (Emma Stone) goes nowhere. It is a shame because the two had much better chemistry in Crazy Stupid Love.

There are better gangster films like Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables and Curtis Hansen’s L.A. Confidential, but Gangster Squad is a decent movie with a great performance by Sean Penn, and it has some spectacular shootout scenes.

Gangster Squad - 3.5/5