Review of Gangster Squad (2013) by Reddave2 — 06 Feb 2013

What went wrong? I saw the trailers for Gangster Squad and thought that this looks right up my street. Good collection of actors Penn, Gosling, Brolin tied to some lovely art design (I'm a sucker for 1940's America).

This should be a great or at least decent slice of the cinema cake. Sadly, it's all frosting. When a film starts with a guy being ripped in half by 2 cars and another guy getting his hand ripped off by a lift, you may be expecting a gritty film.

But Gangster Squad is all gloss and the violence, far from being helpful, detracts because its so comical. Think Sin City, but without the subtlety. It sets the scene for an film with a very uneven tone (is it character ensemble, action film, comic book, historical?) and a script that is so simple it would make the A-team look deep.

With a gaping plot hole that is signposted miles away. There's very little to recommend here beyond the visuals. The characters are so cliche that the actors cant do any justice with them (Penn could well be basing his character on villains from Dick Tracy) and the twists have so little swerve that you know where the film is going long before you get there.

There's nothing original here and nothing to keep you interested. A shame.