It paints this cool picture about doing something bigger than yourself. I mean, it's "feel good" in the same way that The Dark Knight Rises is "feel good", in that it is, for a brief moment, a little inspiring. In the middle there, it's also kind of a feel good movie. No plan survives first contact with the enemy, after all. It added a good element of realism, that just because these guys are "badass" doesn't mean they're immune to outside influences. The first cop that leading man, Sergeant O'Mara (played by a man I'm fast becoming fond of Josh Brolin -Men in Black 3, True Grit, Jonah Hex, W., American Gangster, Planet TerrorNo Country for Old Men, The Dead Girl, Hollow Man, Mimic, Nightwatch) tries to hire, flat out turns him down, and the teams' first operation goes completely tits up in the extreme. I was glad to see that things were flawed in the plans set out by the film's protagonists. I'm a sucker for continuous shots, and though Gangster Squad was hardly in the Children of Men category there, it was nice to see Fleischer chuck a few of them in too.
Here in Australia we have an MA15+ rating, and that's what it's there for, so go nuts, guys! (I have a whole 'nother issue with film restriction classifications, but let's not go into that right now). The latest effort from Director Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) is the film adaptation of Paul Lieberman's book Gangster Squad (which is in turn somewhat based on actual events during 1940's post-war Los Angeles).įor this kind of high-profile Action/Drama, it was good to see Hollywood not be too shy of the blood. That film sets the standard for operatic shootout/death scenes.
The final shootout is good, but probably not not as memorable as Scarface. I identify with the cops, the streetwise enforcers from another era, reminiscent of Dirty Harry exclaiming, "I'm all broken up about his rights!" The destiny of LA is up for grabs in 1949, and no tactic is too brutal for either side to employ in this battle for supremacy. "Los Angeles is my fu*#in destiny roars Sean Penn's Mickey Cohen, and you believe he means it. He even spoofs the type in Tropic Thunder. The squad's even multi-racial! I'd like to have seen more of Nick Nolte he's fantastic in roles like this- see The Tin Red Line, Mulholland Falls, and the 2 48 hours movies. Robert Patrick, Michael Pena, and Haley Strode, among others, offered up memorable contributions. Penn's Cohen is better than even most Bond villains in his vision of domination.Įmma Stone I is certainly beautiful and a good femme fatale in this movie, torn between love and the gritty reality of the LA underworld. Much like the characters played by Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce in LA Confidential, the are two very different types of cops. Josh Brolin is a good foil to Penn's character and a compliment to Ryan Gosling's character. Sean Penn's craggy features and real-life tough guy persona make him perfect for the role as crime boss Mickey Cohen.
The all-star cast is great, both the stars and the supporting characters as well. This is gripping entertainment, not realism. Reminiscent of The Untouchables and LA Confidential, this gritty, stylish film is more melodramatic though. I loved this based-on-a-true story American good vs.
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