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A gangster flick ‘based on a true story’ set in 1949 sounded like exactly what I needed to watch after a long list of disappointments in 2012.
Unfortunately, Gangster Squad does not live up to its hype … nor does it serve as homage to classics such as The Untouchables and LA Confidential, it just rips them off.
Director Ruben Fleischer does what he does best: over dramatise, stylise and produce what can be regarded as a parody of a classic … but sometimes it doesn’t pay off like it did with his hit comedy/horror Zombieland.
The most irritating part of the film comes right at the end when a very old Sean Penn opens fire by a Christmas tree screaming ‘here comes Santy Claus’. I couldn’t help but cringe at the desperate attempt to recreate a Scarface moment with a failed one-liner … Penn went from being an A-list actor to a Grade-A thief.
Having said that, the film does have its moments with stylised slow motion scenes, explosions, gun violence and snapping necks. It even has a number of great performances that were needed to keep the film engaging. It’s just a shame that the desperation in Fleischer’s unique filming techniques overshadows the genuine emotion.
As soon as the film starts, viewers are taken into the dark and gory world of the mob. In Los Angeles, Mickey Cohen (Penn), a ruthless monster, is looking to expand his influence of power … and he’ll do anything to get to the top. He has the police in his pocket and is loaded with profits from his various illicit ventures.
The city has had enough of Mickey getting in the way and Sergeant John O’Mara (Josh Brolin), a typical law abiding citizen and former war veteran, has been hired by police chief Bill Parker to destroy the criminal network.
Hesitant to accept the job at first he goes home to pregnant wife Connie (Mireille Enos) and together they select a group of five policemen to help with his mission to disrupt the mobster’s life.
There’s the knife-throwing machine, captain Coleman Harris (Anthony Mackie), the Second World War veteran who is in it for vengeance sergeant Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), the technology nerd detective Conway Keeler (Giovanni Ribisi), the sidekick detective Navidad Ramirez (Michael Peña), and the cowboy detective-on-the-side Max Kennard (Robert Patrick). Each possesses a skill (and personal vendetta) Connie sees fit to help keep her husband alive.
Oh, and there’s a love story in the mix too between Wooters and Grace Faraday (Stone). Just like in LA Confidential, their forbidden love grows stronger and they just want to get out of the mob business.
There’s nothing new in this story … everything is predictable – even the typical Chinatown scene (which was apparently added at the last minute) where spilt gasoline catches fire and again brings emphasis to Mickey’s reign of terror.
O’Mara often resorts to illegal tactics and far-fetched extremes in his crusade against Mickey, but Brolin’s acting just didn’t do the character any justice. He was the least compelling … he wasn’t terrible, but his character was too one dimensional to be the lead.
However, this may be because Fleischer was so successful in portraying just how evil Mickey is that he forgot about all the other characters. I felt no attachment to any of them and even in moments where I would normally find myself balling my eyes out … I remained bored and emotionless.
Penn plays a very credible mob king and with the use of prosthetic make-up, against iconic landmarks in Los Angeles, he fits right into the gangster culture.
His character was reminiscent of Al Capone in The Untouchables and was entertaining.
Ryan Gosling (the main reason I watched the movie) could have done better if had a few shirtless scenes, but was still amusing to watch as the charming and cynical agent.
He had a different mindset to the others in the group as the calm and down-to-earth officer who understood how LA became so involved with gangsters.
Gangster Squad does have all the right features that make a good mobster movie, but, in spite of the great acting, there’s nothing new about it, falling short of what could have been another classic.
*Showing in Cineco and Seef II
