Gangster Squad seemed to be a long time coming. It was initially due for release around the same time as Lawless but was postponed by the cinema shooting in Aurora as the film featured a scene involving a shoot out at a cinema.
I'm not sure that January was the best time to release the finished film, not when cinemas at the moment seem to be full of Oscar contenders. But I guess as it's not likely to be a contender for awards it's probably as good a time as any for an old fashioned gangster film.
The film is loosely based on the story of Mob boss Mickey Cohen and how the Los Angeles police force formed a secret squad of officers who's sole purpose was to take him down.
I know several guys at my work who really loved this film, however me and my two friends I saw it with definitely found it left us less than impressed. The acting is solid and if I'm honest I do struggle to say what was wrong with the film. It just felt lacklustre, over long and repetative in places with one shoot out after another. I guess that was the whole point, this being a gangster film, but it just got boring after a while.
The scenes depicting the family lives of the cops were a nice touch and definitely gave the characters more depth but they felt a little like fillers for the big shoot outs and that's where the film became bland and uninspired for me.
If your a fan of those involved or have a particular love of gangster films then you'll probably think this is a great way to spend 2+ hours. If not then I'd say there's not much here for you. 6 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 15th January 2013
UK Release Date - 11th January 2013
Cast Overview:
Josh Brolin ~ Sergeant John O'Mara
Ryan Gosling ~ Sergeant Jerry Wooters
Sean Penn ~ Mickey Cohen
Emma Stone ~ Grace Faraday
Nick Nolte ~ Bill Parker
Anthony Mackie ~ Detective Coleman Harris
Giovanni Ribisi ~ Detective Conwell Keeler
Robert Patrick ~ Detective Max Kennard
Michael Peña ~ Detective Navidad Ramirez
Director ~ Ruben Fleischer
Writer(s) ~ Will Beall and Paul Lieberman (book)
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