Right, I have no real creative way to
start this... so, Gangster Squad!
It's 1949, and Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn)
is the kingpin of the Californian criminal underworld.
Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) is
picked by Chief to wage war against the boxer-turned-gangster and
bring his empire to its knees. So he assembles a team of
sharpshooting, hard-fighting cops and goes on the attack.
The most obvious film comparison people
have made is L.A Confidential, and to be honest, I don't see it. I
mean, yeah, that one's a period piece about crime and corruption, but
that one was a little more... layered, for lack of a better word. I
haven't seen that one in ages, so maybe there's more to the
comparison than what I'm seeing, but for me, the most obvious
comparison is The Untouchables, one of my absolute favourite movies.
Both have a by-the-book cop assemble a team to take on a kingpin, one
of those members isn't much for the violent side of things, there's
an older, more experienced cop (who share similar fates, trying not
to spoil that. Matter of fact, same thing happens to the team members
whose expertise isn't with gunplay), both kingpins go to jail for the
same thing in real life (Gangster Squad's changes the ending, for
more action-packed fare I dare say).
But how does Gangster Squad hold up on
its own? Well, it's a pretty good action flick. It comes in two
flavours, shootouts and fisticuffs. Personally, as good as the
shootouts are (particularly towards the end), I prefer the
fisticuffs, it's more intense, more personal. And the end
confrontation is no exception (slight spoiler), in what amounts to a
no-holds barred slobberknocker. The entire fight is well shot, and
it's what you'd expect between a driven man and a former boxer.
Acting-wise, Josh Brolin reminds me so
much of a young Tommy Lee Jones (and for the record, I haven't seen
Men In Black 3 yet) and really, that's a good call for a cop film.
He's determined, unrelenting and shows great leadership.
Sean Penn, I can't remember the last
time I saw him in a film. His character is kind of unbalanced and
skittish, but that only helps reinforce how dangerous he can be, the
kind of quality you need in a gangster, and he does a superb job.
Ryan Gosling... well, it's almost like
he took his character from Crazy Stupid Love and traveled back in
time with it. His character loves the ladies (and himself a little)
and a good time. But when he's called into action, he gets right into
the thick of it.
Emma Stone is the other big player in
this movie, playing Mickey's girlfriend, who has more depth than it
may seem at first. I'd say she has great chemistry with Ryan Gosling,
but since she too was in Crazy Stupid Love, and involved with him
there too, it's kind of obvious.
If there are flaws in this movie, it's
a couple of minor things.
First, some of the comedic moments feel
really out of place, almost taking away from the seriousness of the
situation.
Secondly, the blood splattering. Now,
obviously, when bodies get riddled with bullets, it's not going to be
clean. But the way the blood splatters, you'd think you were watching
a particularly gory horror movie. I think I saw less blood in the
head-exploding scene from Scanners.
So, all in all, an enjoyable action
romp. 3.5/5
Sorry for the less meaty blog post, I'm
considering revisiting a couple of these films on DVD later in the
year.
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