Review of Gangster Squad (2013) by Mloy X — 06 Apr 2014

Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling): Don't go.

Grace Faraday (Emma Stone): Don't let me.

I was so looking forward to watching this 'coz it had Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in it (two of my favorite actors). Unfortunately, it also had Sean Penn who was channeling his inner Deniro so much that it was almost comical (if it wasn't so sad). As far as gangster noir it really failed to capture the essence of the era-- they may have the costume, cars, the gears and joints' detail locked but film still felt off. It's like a wolf in sheep's clothing, you see the disguise but can't help but be distracted by what's hiding underneath it. (I don't know how else to explain it). Anyhow, it just didn't transport me to the era. The story was okay, although I didn't really care for the Mikey Spillane / Mike Hammer -esque narrative from Brolin's character. Yet, another failed attempt at inserting a stereotype from the era but just doesn't work out as planned. Overall, this film could have been better especially with the A-list cast including Giovanni Ribisi (who is just an ubber talented performer); it had the potential to be really cool but just ended up being "meh!".