Review of Gangster Squad (2013) by Moviemew _ — 04 Mar 2018

"Gangster Squad" seems to get a bad rep for being shallow, but I'll have to disagree with the consensus here: it's a damn fine movie.

Firstly, let's talk story. Mickey Cohen (Penn) is a 1940s mafia boss, aiming to take full control over Los Angeles. Sgt. John O'Mara (Brolin) is appointed the task of gathering a team to end Cohen's reign once and for all, and thus, accompanied by his brave - though romantic - sidekick Sgt. Jerry Woofers (Gosling), he recruits several renowned detectives. The team, calling itself the Gangster Squad, aims to sabotage Cohen's underground operations, as to eventually apprehend Cohen himself.

The plot progresses at a solid pace; both the Gangster Squad and Mickey Cohen can be seen setting up their headquarters, and through winning shootouts at a handful of different locations, the squad's proximity to the "final boss" increases noticeably everytime. Character development, albeit a little barebones for some, is still enjoyable - especially for Cohen, O'Mara and Wooters; in this regard, all three of their portraying actors do a fantastic job (I mean, Sean Penn REALLY nails the "ruthless mobster" vibe). Mind you, there is quite some information to take in from the start, so I'd advise anyone watching to really pay attention to the story's exposition.

Cinematographically, this film is simply stunning. The lighting is consistently dark, shadowy and dramatic, giving everything an underground vibe, whilst the colour grading is ridiculously pretty, with skin tones both ever-so-beautiful and matching every characterisation thinkable; I'd say it gives off a warm war-story vibe, overall, which in its turn really complements the thrilling, well-directed fighting scenes, interspersed with epic slow-motion action.

"Gangster Squad" is a hell of a thrill, with it excelling visually and having a good, balanced story. Go watch it.