Gangster Squad centers around a group of men who are enlisted by the Chief of Police, Chief Parker played by the wonderful and gravelly Nick Nolte to take down Mickey Cohen played by Sean Penn an East Coast crook who's taken over Los Angeles in a crime wave. Immediately after WWII in 1949, Detective O'Mara played by Josh Brolin leads the motley crew of famous faces into a guerrilla war with Mickey Cohen's gang, destroying supply trains of dope, money and hookers in an effort to drive Mickey out of the city.
There was hope that this film would be this generation's "The Untouchables" but sadly it falls apart at the seams. There are some odd choices of casting such as Ryan Gosling "The Sheep in wolf's clothing", his accent in the film was a little too effeminate and off putting. Emma Stone was by and large a prop more than a character, she served as just another pretty face to ogle. Together they have a romance that is a little too "Jack & Rose" from Titanic and it's noticeably cringy at times.
The people that do shine however are Robert Patrick as Officer Max Kennard, an old timer who's famous for shooting crooks rather than going by the books. Anthony Mackie as Coleman Harris is a terrific addition to the gangster squad and brings a certain air of charm to the screen. By and large the performances are fine, what does hold the film back though is the direction by Ruben Fleischer, his previous credits are "Zombieland" which was a solid film and " 30 Minutes or Less " which was critically and commercially panned. The digital colour correction of the film is distracting as they attempt to make it look like the 1940's. All too often you ask yourself why is the camera setup there at that angle, what shot were you trying to achieve? A different director with more experience was needed to tackle this subject matter.
There is unnecessary voice over from Josh Brolin, particularly at the end which is extremely laughable. The last 5 minutes needed to be left on the cutting room floor. This period needed to be gritty and violent which at times it was but the ending was too perky. In a time where countless people died in drive-by shootings and mob hits, the tone was too light. The majority of the cast shine whilst the script and direction are at times flawed. If you're looking for a fun film then by all accounts you will have a good time just don't have too high an expectation and don't expect "The Untouchables 2". Ultimately very disappointing, the colour saturation along with the super smooth no motion blur was distracting and the casting could have had a few alterations 2.5/5
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