Gangster Squad

So, I had wanted to see this movie ever since hearing about this awhile ago and that both Ryan Gosling AND Emma Stone were attached. Obviously, Gosling is ah-mazing, but I am also a fan of his talent as well (i.e, Blue Valentine, Lars and the Real Girl, Murder by Numbers, Drive, The Slaughter Rule, . . . I could go on). Throw into the mix Sean Penn, Giovanni Ribisi, and a mob plot line and I was hooked. This movie was slated for a late 2012 release date however was famously pushed back to an early 2013 release as it had contained a scene in which mobsters shot through into a movie theater through it's screen and the studio decided to change it out of respect for the tragic shooting in Colorado. The film has actually made more from foreign totals than here domestically (despite it's star-studded ensemble cast) and has brought in about $105 million to date, well surpassing it's modest $60 million budget.

The plost is very (VERY) loosely based/inspired on the actual Los Angeles based gangster, Mickey Cohen, and the police involvement. The LAPD police chief commissions a secret group of policemen to take down Cohen by any means necessary. Josh Brolin picks a rag-tag team of misfits comprised of Giovonni Ribisi, Ryan Gosling, Robert Patrick, Michael Pena, and Anthony Mackie to take down the mobster played by Sean Penn. Emma Stone becomes involved in a love triangle between the two sides.

The plot had tons and tons of cliche's and the dialogue was pretty bland. However, it was a very entertaining story line, despite it's lack of direction at many points. The characters were very stereotypical and all of the copious amounts of action in the storyline didn't leave much, if any, room for character development. There was also numerous scenes of obviously gratuitous violence. I'm talking over-the-top gratuitous. Even with these things lacking, I still found myself getting involved with the story and genuinely enjoying it. The movie did say the story was inspired from a true story which I'm glad it didn't say it was based on as pretty much everything was fabricated or didn't happen in the same context as the story. Yes, there was a Jewish gangster named Mickey Cohen who ran Los Angeles during this time and there was also a police chief who hated him and commissioned a secret squad against him. However, the squad was comissioned after Cohen went to prison to keep anyone else from taking power and Cohen went to prison for the much less interesting tax evasion. I don't want to spoil the story, but that's much different from the movie. But again, it doesn't claim to be historical and was a nicely entertaining story with some factual events thrown into the mix.

The movie was highly stylized and had the smoke and grit we've come to associate with Old Hollywood. There were also some pretty slick camera movements employed, especially in the car chase sequence. There were also some very artificial and sappy background shots, but they were few and far between. One thing I noticed shortly into the film, was there was AHMAZING blocking. All of the characters were choreographed in and around with the many camera movements without looking artificial. This may (er, will) go unnoticed by most, but I was especially pleased.

What really made this movie was the ensemble, and especially Gosling, Stone, and Brolin as they had most of the screen time. Gosling and Stone didn't get as much opportunity as they did to showcase their chemistry as in Crazy Stupid Love, but they were still very charismatic within the limits of their characters. Brolin , Ribisi, and Penn were all believable and entertaining. I think without this cast, the movie would have not has been as entertaining or worthwhile.

The movie, as a whole, was more entertaining than not, in my humble opinion. There were definite parts that could have used some re-working, but if you go into it simply looking for an entertaining and stylized ensemble piece, you won't be disappointed. If you want a unique mob movie, look elsewhere. Oh, and try not to cringe at the dialogue, just remember this movie is about the action and plot. "If you lose everything but win the war, you're a hero. If you lose everything and lose the war, you're just a fool". -- Gangster Squad.