Review: Gangster Squad

In 2009 we were greeted to what is probably one of the best zombie films ever with 'Zombieland' and to add to that it was Ruben Fleischer's directorial debut. So was he able to deliver one of the best gangster movies with this one or not? Find out below.

Synopsis:

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. -- (C) Warner Bros

Story:

The movie was set in the late 40s and follows a group of rogue cops (or working under the radar cops) to capture the mob boss Mickey Cohen. This movie did that plain and simple, there was no complication or making the plot a little bit deeper but the problem here is how it was executed. Yes some parts were amazing but in my opinion it tried too hard to be like 'The Untouchables'. For me it felt liked a rehash version of that with poor story telling but with better visuals.

Acting:

This movie has got a stellar cast but that doesn't mean that everyone one of them will shine. The actors who really did a good job here was Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling. Now, Brolin was a badass cop even from the beginning, he's like a good cop that you don't want to mess with while Gosling plays a somehow mild-mannered cop at first but with hidden rage which makes his character threatening. You must be wondering why I didn't mention Sean Penn, it's because of this, he overacted in this film. In the trailer you can see this villain who is vicious and unrelenting but upon watching the movie and watching his performance it somehow channels a Tony Montana rip-off with a dash of Vito Corleone and a spill of overacting. Although it might sound good on paper, it wasn't a pleasure to see on screen but I must say though that his character delivers one heck of a line. 'You know the drill'.

Action/Violence:

Yes it has action and yes it's violent. This is what made me liked the movie, the gunfights the car chases, and the fist fights. It was done excellently, you can feel the intensity of the fights in here. It helped to keep the movie to be not in a boring state and it helped to up the ante when needed be.

Music:

I really like the music in this movie but at times it felt a little inappropriate. Sometimes it feels like they really captured the spirit of its timeline but when a rap-esque score kicks in it felt different and it's like going to the route of a 'gangstah' and not 'gangster'. What I also disliked at some of the scores is that it tried too hard to be ominous and haunting.

Cinematography:

Ruben Fleischer is one visual director and you can expect great shots in this movie. It was executed well and somehow added depth to a scene. It also helps the movie to have it's own signature visually and categorizing it as a different gangster film, well visually that is.

Direction:

Ruben Fleischer's direction in this movie can get dodgy at times and then it suddenly kicks into overdrive which in my opinion is kind of hard to follow because it can give less development into the characters. My other gripe is that at times it seems like the movie was just jumping from one scene to another ad I find that a little weak and like I said with little development.

Overall:

'Gangster Squad' may not be one of the best gangster films out there but what it lacks in character development and lackluster writing definitely delivers in the aspect of action, cinematography and a great performance from Brolin and Gosling. I rate this movie at a slid 3/5.