Review of Gangster Squad (2013) by Carlos R — 28 Nov 2016

This film comes with a moment of revelation for me; I am a suckered for a good action Crime thriller. It has an all-star cast that includes Nick Nolte as a police chief and Sean Penn as a mob boss. The movie is a stylized version of True events that occurred in Los Angeles during the same time period. The real stories were released by an author in the LA Times and we're eventually collected in book form. I also don't mind violence, which this film has plenty of.

The first bit of the movie sets up Josh Brolin's character well, giving us his moral code and family life. While this movie is about the squad, Brolin shares the main spotlight with Ryan Gossling, who slides in as my favorite character. 2nd to Sean Penn who is vicious and sells that gangster like it's HIS movie and not a movie about taking him down. The rest of the (truly) ensemble cast are still a group of talented individuals playing characters that work their way from a sort of bumbling team to precise.

Critics say it falls short of anything notable except LA Noir. One can see shortcomings upon examination, as in any film but I rarely focus on the negatives. The dialogue is seen as laughable but honestly captured the mind as being from a different time. The tone is also a point of contention, being funny with such serious subject matter. But Millennials love a touch of comedy in every aspect of life as it keeps it enjoyable. Is it a serious look at the time and subject matter like LA Confidential? No. It's simple and delivered with ease like a pizza. I was completely wrapped in it throughout.