Rated R, 110 minutes
“Gangster
Squad” is an unfortunate mess. Unfortunate that a violent crime film is
released at the height of America’s debate on gun control and following
several tragic events. As for the mess, it sums up essentially the rest
of the film; while peppered with a few decent action sequences, stylish
sets and a handsome cast, it falls flat. It strives to be “The
Untouchables” but in execution ends up dead on arrival. “Gangster Squad” is set in Los Angeles in the
1950s, when Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) assembles a group of rag tag
lawmakers (Ryan Gosling, Robert Patrick, Anthony Mackie, Michael Pena
and Giovanni Ribisi) to help bring down noted gangster Mickey Cohen
(Sean Penn) and keep the East Coast mafia out of L.A. “Gangster Squad”
has a handful of good qualities, mainly style and a
good cast, that are wasted under an uneven script, pacing and
direction. The film has clear identity problems; it wants to be both a
dark noir in “L.A. Confidential” style or the humor and violence of
DePalma’s “Untouchables” yet it ends up a mess in plotting and
structure. The problem may be that “Gangster Squad” has the wrong
director in Ruben Fleischer, director of the hit horror film
“Zombieland.” He doesn’t have a solid grasp of the narrative, and his
misdirection ends up wasting such fine actors like a too-earnest Brolin,
an over-the-top (an understatement) Penn, who chews on scenery and
everyone else, and a miscast Gosling, who seems to acting in another
movie altogether. “Gangster Squad’s” female lead, Emma Stone, is also
wasted as it clearly tries to model Kim Basinger from “L.A.
Confidential.” The unfortunate timing following the shootings in Newtown
and Aurora (which prompted some reshoots of key scenes)
doesn’t exactly help the film, either. There are a handful of fun
moments, mostly provided by the supporting characters (Mackie, Patrick,
Pena, Ribisi) who are far more interesting than the leads, but in the
end “Gangster Squad” is a terrible misfire.
Wes’s Grade: C-
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