"Gangster Squad" Review

Picture to yourself the good ol' days. Whaddaya see? For a certain generation, it might be the post-war glitz and glimmer of the big cities. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas. Broadway, Times Square, Hollywoodland, The Strip. It hearkens a bygone era that lives on in the photos, stories, and artifacts left behind.
The 40s were an era dominated by organized crime, by men willing to kill for the almighty dollar and the American Dream. Men like Al Capone and Mickey Cohen.

In the film Gangster Squad, director Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, 30 Minutes or Less) gives us a stylized account of Cohen's involvement in organized crime and the police outfit that tried to stop him in 1940s Los Angeles. The film tries it's darnedest to mimic big brother Brian De Palma's The Untouchables but doesn't quite make it on account of spotty writing from Castle scribe Will Beall.  Having said that, I still had a blast watching Gangster Squad for its colorful cast of characters, gorgeous costumes, dazzling production design, and exciting action sequences. Hardly ingredients for an instant Hollywood classic, but certainly enough for a guilty pleasure.

Sean Penn is positively electrifying as Mickey Cohen. Much like DiCaprio in Django Unchained, Penn takes what he's given and crafts a villain so foreboding, so sinister, and so much fun to watch that it's worth the price of admission just to watch him work. Cohen is one of the coolest, nastiest villains in recent memory, and I don't think any other actor could have captured the color and camp better than Sean Penn. Everyone else is just trying to keep up. Ryan Gosling is okay as Sergeant Jerry Wooters, a role that I honestly think was tailor-made for him. Josh Brolin is solid as always as Sergeant John O'Mara, head of the Gangster Squad. Think of him as the Eliot Ness of the group. Robert Patrick is also lots of fun as Officer Max Kennard, the cowboy of the police force who's shot more men than any cop in town. He's funny and makes a nice gun-slinging addition to the squad. Additionally, Anthony Mackie fares well as he always does in his role as Officer Coleman Harris.
Everyone else in the cast is squandered, which is a shame because that's loads of talent down the drain. No doubt they could've made the film even better if given more to work with. Emma Stone is dismissable as the femme fatale Grace Faraday, proving to be nothing more than the classic damsel-in-distress. Michael Pena is given little chance to shine as Officer Navidad Ramirez, the ethnic young padawan of Officer Kennard, taking a back seat to the bigger characters like Cohen, Wooters, O'Mara, and even Faraday. Giovanni Ribisi also turns in work as squad tech man Officer Conway Keeler. He's decent enough, but doesn't steal the show. With a stronger script, who knows what good these capable actors could've done for the Gangster Squad?

I mentioned before that a certain generation might recall the good ol' days with the glitz and glimmer of the big cities. Gangster Squad effectively captures that appeal in its presentation. The sets and costumes are amazing, nailing the flamboyancy of early 20th century social life right on the head. Even the film itself looks polished and glossy in the way its lit. Some might find fault with this for looking manicured and cheesy. I normally would, but in this case it works because of the setting. It's really a cool aesthetic that gives a good-looking finish to an already good-looking movie.

In addition to hiring the best production design team possible, Fleischer also crafts some nifty action sequences. Shootouts, car chases, gasoline fires, and fisticuffs might all be considered standard gangster movie fare, but the director manages to keep things from being dull and repetitive. SPOILER: One of my favorite scenes is a fist fight between Cohen and O'Mara. Understanding the context of Mickey's character is important for understanding why its so great in terms of story, but its also pretty well-choreographed. It's brutal and unrelenting, which is just fine with me.

Overall the only crime this gangster commits is inconsistent writing. But with Sean Penn's arresting performance (pun intended) and sets that bring the golden age of Los Angeles to life, Gangster Squad proves to be a colorful noire that's delightfully, if sometimes mindlessly, over-the-top. But everyone needs a diversion now and then, and I'd say this is as fun as guilty pleasures get.

3 OF 4 STARS