Review of Gangster Squad (2013) by Nastassia J — 22 Jun 2013

I gladly present to you, Sean Penn, as the most unconvincing villain of all time. You'd expect much more from a film with the individual talents of a pretty exceptional cast. It takes about two minutes to figure out exactly how it all ends.

And that's fine, as long as the ride startles you a few times. But no. Gangster Squad fails to do any of its cast members justice. The movie starts off with a promising noir vibe, a tad Tarantino-esque giving us lots to look forward to.

The premise is not at all new; classic case of cop versus well incrusted mob, corrupt officers in the way, good cop bad cop, the whole drill. Still, even with a plot this commonplace, there's always an angle you can work to make the movie work.

We're promised early on, by a Nick Nolte playing Chief, that it won't just be a takedown; it'll be the dismantling of an empire. Yet all we're given are endless car chases, accidental gunfights and rookie scheming.

Zero suspense-building: the geek dies early on, the sidekick gets shot and incapacitated so the main man gets to shine alone. Classic, redundant, boring. We've seen it all before. A flamboyant show of guns and fists, for what? Nothing.

Less is more guys, less is more.