Directed by:
Ruben FleischerScreenplay:
Will BeallCinematography:
Dion BeebeComposer:
Steve JablonskyCast:
Josh Brolin, Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Giovanni Ribisi, Nick Nolte, Anthony Mackie, Mireille Enos, Michael Peña, Robert Patrick, Jon Polito (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and - if he has his way - every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It's enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop... except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen's world apart. The Gangster Squad is a colorful retelling of events surrounding the LAPD's efforts to take back their nascent city from one of the most dangerous mafia bosses of all time. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (14)
Shallow popcorn flick that lacks the soul, the atmosphere and that one memorable scene that have always made the gangster genre so attractive and rewarding to viewers. There are many moments, especially the last ten minutes, that were written following the manual "How to make an unwanted parody of a genre quickly and easily." The only thing that keeps it afloat is Josh Brolin’s manly charisma. On the whole, it's as routine and stupid as Zombieland, which I expected from Fleischer, so there's no question of disappointment. And please, don’t give me that “Inspired by a True Story” line.
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A simple action movie pretending to be a retro gangster film, where actors are illuminated like mannequins in a store.
One or two thrilling scenes, a brisk pace, one-dimensional characters, attractive camera filters and a horribly directed
Ryan Gosling. For him to fumble, the director’s skill must be truly abysmal. How could they have gotten such an acting
ensemble for this screenplay?! Right between two and three stars, and I’m giving two because it’s a defiling of Sergio Leone
and Brian De Palma.
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After the first negative reactions, I was expecting some kind of dud, but it’s actually made very differently than I thought. No Scorsese and his typical precision, no De Palma and the great psychology of the characters, it’s only genre fan Ruben Fleischer who drew a Thompson on a paper instead of writing a script, shoved it into the hands of a bunch of top-notch actors, and let them go at it for nearly two hours in a style rivalled only by the recent Expendables 2. And all this against the backdrop of a very authentic retro atmosphere and Jablonsky's catchy soundtrack, which gives the action scenes more pizzazz. There’s one cliché after another, all the actors, except for the extremely scene-chewing Penn, get by with two expressions, and Emma Stone is just eye-candy that we could have done without this time. But, and this is quite important from my point of view in a product of film ENTERTAINMENT, you don't get bored for a moment. Admittedly, it’s a kind of guiltier entertainment, where we're well aware that we're witnessing an over-the-top, over-stylized and overly stupid Hollywood affair, but its negative impact on my humble viewing intelligence was ultimately not as overwhelming as I had feared. 65%
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A routine affair, but definitely not a complete disaster. It's surprising that a lot of otherwise excellent and very inventive creators and actors are behind this very average film. I enjoyed the raw fights and the decent gunfights, the ultra-cool Penn and the likeable Brolin, though he is much better on the opposite side of the law, like in American Gangster. It's not nearly as intricate, skillfully written, and technically precise as, for example, Ridley Scott’s film, but it's worth seeing once. Purely average.
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An unpleasantly loud burst bubble, drowning one of the most promising acting ensembles of the season. Here there may be enough style for two movies, but barely enough momentum for ten minutes. Will Beall's script puts clichéd lines in the mouths of its characters, which even names like Ryan Gosling or Josh Brolin struggle to deliver while maintaining any credibility. Should it be relegated to a story of antiheroes on a quest for justice? Perhaps. But I don't mind at all that Gangster Squad is ultimately the most worn-out trash, because that's exactly what attracted me to it. What bothers me is that it is nothing else, and in key plot twists it just rehashes bits and pieces from The Untouchables, Carlito's Way, and Public Enemies.
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