Gangster Squad

It’s shallow kitsch, without much in terms of wisdom from the screenwriter, but it’s still watchable, thanks mainly to the good cast, the nice visuals and the craftsmanship. Sean Penn’s main evil gangster, though, feels like self-parody; his attempts at looking insane and maniac were funny – but that also contributed to my experience as a viewer, which I would describe as satisfactory. It’s unlikely that I will watch Gangster Squad again (not alone, at least), but I didn’t feel any acute need to get as far away from the screen as possible. (04/03/2013)

Shallow popcorn flick that lacks the soul, the atmosphere and that one memorable scene that have always made the gangster genre so attractive and rewarding to viewers. There are many moments, especially the last ten minutes, that were written following the manual "How to make an unwanted parody of a genre quickly and easily." The only thing that keeps it afloat is Josh Brolin’s manly charisma. On the whole, it's as routine and stupid as Zombieland, which I expected from Fleischer, so there's no question of disappointment. And please, don’t give me that “Inspired by a True Story” line. (04/11/2013)

An unpleasantly loud burst bubble, drowning one of the most promising acting ensembles of the season. Here there may be enough style for two movies, but barely enough momentum for ten minutes. Will Beall's script puts clichéd lines in the mouths of its characters, which even names like Ryan Gosling or Josh Brolin struggle to deliver while maintaining any credibility. Should it be relegated to a story of antiheroes on a quest for justice? Perhaps. But I don't mind at all that Gangster Squad is ultimately the most worn-out trash, because that's exactly what attracted me to it. What bothers me is that it is nothing else, and in key plot twists it just rehashes bits and pieces from The Untouchables, Carlito's Way, and Public Enemies. (04/06/2013)

An even bigger mistake than expecting Gangster Squad to be the new L.A. Confidential is to watch L.A. Confidential two days beforehand. I don't mind the lemonade game of gangsters, which mainly treads on a 'sunny' note because the actors fit the period suits exactly, cigarettes are smoked countless times, and there are plenty of excuses to get the Thompsons to bark. I can accept all that until Fleischer says he'd like to be the new DePalma and switches from funny conversational humor to serious mode, where he fails utterly. In fact, all the action scenes seem to have been shoehorned into the film as an afterthought, only one of the two female characters is anchored in the plot, and the police unit is carried by Brolin's charisma and Gosling's smile. To top it all off, it features a collection of annoying Hollywood clichés. A well-deserved fail. (01/31/2013)

A routine affair, but definitely not a complete disaster. It's surprising that a lot of otherwise excellent and very inventive creators and actors are behind this very average film. I enjoyed the raw fights and the decent gunfights, the ultra-cool Penn and the likeable Brolin, though he is much better on the opposite side of the law, like in American Gangster. It's not nearly as intricate, skillfully written, and technically precise as, for example, Ridley Scott’s film, but it's worth seeing once. Purely average. (03/31/2013)