Named for its ragtag band of detectives commissioned to take down the most powerful gangster in post-WWII Los Angeles, Calif., “Gangster Squad” is exactly the movie it’s expected to be.
Produced by Village Roadshow Pictures, the trite period piece has its merits.
The costume design is eye-catching in most cases. There are several scenes that make the most of the excessive gunplay with interesting visual effects, not to mention the unoriginal but cringingly well-done murder scenes.
The plot leaves a little something to be desired. The kitschy dialogue is fraught with the lingo of the late 1940s, and the shootout scenes became tiresome after the first hour. If it hadn’t been as well-cast, this noir-ish film could be classified as nothing more than cheesy and uninspired.
In many ways, the cast is what makes the film. Sean Penn is chillingly convincing as sadistic, unrefined Mickey Cohen, a Jewish retired boxer with a hand in every crooked business in town.
After his brothel is infiltrated by the respected war hero and LAPD Sgt. John O’Mara — played by an equally appropriate Josh Brolin — Cohen sneers into the face of an ill-fated lackey, “You know what they say: everything good must one day be burned to the ground for the insurance money.”
The chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, who play a member of the vigilante outfit and Cohen’s girlfriend, respectively, is undeniable. The pair is unaffected and convincing as a couple. Against the odds, their relationship never comes across as overbearing or overly dramatic.
The rest of the cast gives it a good shot, settling into their clichéd roles with aplomb. The squad works as a whole because of its strict adherence to the expected roster of members: the impossibly skilled veteran in Robert Patrick, youthful protégé in Michael Peña, the intelligence operative in Giovanni Ribisi, the street-wise cop in Anthony Mackie, the reluctant right-hand man in Gosling and the passionate leader in Brolin.
“Gangster Squad” ends up being exactly the film it set out to be — one that has been done before, but is at least done well.
“You know what they say: everything good must one day be burned to the ground for the insurance money.”
