Gangster Squad

Gangster Squad is a gang war drama built on Western conventions, a rootin' tootin', Camel-smokin', whiskey swillin' shoot'em up.

Instead of expanding their sights, Fleischer and Beall narrow them, into a repetitive and increasingly exhausting series of shootouts. By the end, those guns might as well be held by extras, rather than some of the most talented actors of our time.

It's the cinematic equivalent of Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad Name: You know in your heart it's a crappy song, and every wince-inducing line is an affront to your intelligence, but hey, it's on the radio, so you turn up the volume and sing along anyway.

Despite the unrelenting action and the terrific cast, Gangster Squad comes up more scattered than successful.

The period thriller Gangster Squad plays like an untalented 12-year-old's imitation of Brian DePalma's "The Untouchables."

The over-all result is a misstep for Fleischer. [21 Jan. 2013, p. 78]

His (Fleischer) first feature, "Zombieland," was a half-witty genre parody. This one might be described as genre zombie-ism: the hysterical, brainless animation of dead clichés reduced to purposeless, compulsive killing. Too self-serious to succeed as pastiche, it has no reason for being beyond the parasitic urge to feed on the memories of other, better movies.

This movie is fantastic. Ton of blood, action, and suspense. If you like those types of movies, than Gangster Squad is for you. Right from the beginning, the movie had my attention.

Gangster Squad really shows the different aspect of allegiance to the badge as the storyline isn't great but the acting makes it a good squad.

This movie takes a classic approach to gangster movies and does decent job. True it's not as good as the old gangster movies but it has a certain style that Hollywood lacks today. It's about the city of Los Angeles during a time when gangster ran the town. this gangster was named Micky Cohen. Nobody in the the city dare stands accept for the ex-military officer turned cop John O'Mara. O'Mara ends up having to put a special task force to chase the gangs out of Los Angeles. This means that the movie needs portray a handful of characters well enough so the audience can find interest in all of them. This is were the movie fails because instead of showcasing every character to the best of there ability they make it so some character just feel like stereotypes. In conclusion if your looking for an old style gangster film with new film making techniques involved than this film is for you, however if your looking for an interesting story with interesting characters stay far away from this film.

Life. What is life. We live in a time when life is not appreciated. It’s not cherished. We are the cattle. And the city, the city is our master…So Gangster Squad is trying to be a classic noir film full of mystery, intrigue, well developed characters and twists and turns at every turn right. Wrong. Gangster Squad is the truck driver’s version of modern classics like The Untouchables, Once Upon A Time In America, Carlito’s Way to name a few. The film is complete and utter trailer trash. It’s bound to be a top rental at dirty super gas stations along your state’s major interstates. The only thing grosser to look at would be the trailer stop hookers. Its’ as if the producers and directors set out to make a period film but never have once watched any of the movies that inspire this idea. On paper all the parts are there. Good assortment of actors. Some character actors and old veterans. There is a pretty female love interest for the ladies. And presumably a huge budget to work with. One can image great scenes recreated to bring the beauty and shine of the 40’s to life on the screen. Dare we say Oscar performances or the next Godfather? Nope. No way! In a bland and cookie cutter story line we follow the main protagonist who’s only real motivation is that he killed people in the war and can’t stop it. Or did we miss something. One of the real draws to the trucker crowd which this most surly be aimed is to use guns to fight gun violence. It shows nothing of the time period, the sensibilities, attitudes or history these characters are running around in. It’s not even that pretty to look at. Most of the film is shot in this pseudo film noir style but it just comes across too dark as if they did not have enough lights on set. Everything becomes muddy and blends end. There is not enough contrast or interest to keep your attention for more than a few moments. We get very brief establishing shots and the normal flow of scenes are all focused too close in to make an epic feel of a movie which the director was trying to achieve. At times the action is fun and exciting and you really want to get into it but the zoomed in camera angles make you want to turn away in fear of getting a seizure and puking on the person sitting next to you. One example is the car chase shootout. The camera bobbles and switches back and forth more quickly than a republican trying to avoid a question about climate change. These moves can either be stylized in which case people have really bad tastes that are making these new modern movies or that all the background is CGI and they want to hide it all so they are forced to film it in horrendous ways. How can the filmmakers sleep at night knowing this is the finished product? Audiences want to see a shootout. See a car chase. We don’t’ want to be in the car chase. We are not an actor in the movie we are sitting having you show and tell us a story. Basics. It’s a shame really. The focus on CGI for things like gunshot smoke and fire and things that break is absurd. This is a movie that needs not CGI. You can see clear examples of this in decade’s worth or more watchable and enjoyable police and crime dramas. Even some Steven Segal films are better done this and that’s something nobody wants to hear. Best Actor The acting in this film is all over the place. While it feels natural at most parts there are some people that do better than others. Josh Brolin plays the main lead, a cop who just can’t seem to get away from being in WW2. He’s a jar head and has no character development at all. We don’t care about him, his perfect hair and teeth or his pregnant wife. Worst Actor Tie Ryan Gosling plays another sergeant but unlike Brolin this time Gosling is almost as if he were impersonating somebody in the 40’s. Much you would do about chiming up an impersonation of Groucho Marks as if everybody acted and talked like him. It never felt like Ryan was in the time period, it felt like he was acting. And that hammy accent he tried to pulled off. Every time he spoke I wished he’d get hit by a stray bullet. The fact that he instantly gets the mob bosses girl without even talking to her is mind-numbing. The pay-off is getting the girl at the end. Geez people. What is Sean Penn doing in this role? It’s like a spoof of Tom Cruise as Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder. That’s all you will be thinking about has he lays down the most barbaric and Neanderthal like lines. Truck drivers will easily be able to repeat them on their CB radio. The problem with mobster movies is always making the boss seem like an idiot. They are not. They are incredibly smart. How do you think they can manipulate the system and get away scot free so often throughout history? Give the main villain more credit and make him a threat. It will make the audience hate him more and cheer the heroes on more. What’s with Penn’s face make-up? I know makeup artists gotta practice but save that for high school dance recitals.

All style & no substance. Fleischer & company waste the tremendous talents of this A-list ensemble cast so much that even the charismatic Gosling can't save it. -MN