GANGSTER SQUAD
Directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), Gangster Squad is a pulpy, semi-historical actioner that unashamedly plunders a number of crime drama tropes, mostly to great effect. Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men) stars as John O’Mara, a tenacious cop tasked with assembling a clandestine team to strike a decisive blow against Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn), a sociopathic ex-boxer whose criminal empire has a choke-hold on Post WWII Los Angeles.
Despite an abundance of violence, Gangster Squad is a film that demands not to be taken too seriously: the tone is flamboyant, the humour irreverent, the characters cartoonish, and the dialogue infectiously hammy (‘who’s the tomato?’). Brolin makes for a compelling action-hero, but Penn’s surly pugilist threatens to steal the show. They are ably supported by co-stars Mireille Enos as O’Mara’s tough-as-nails wife, and Ryan Gosling as his charming albeit cynical offsider.
While certainly not in the same league as LA Confidential or The Untouchables (genre classics to which Fleischer seems to aspire) Gangster Squad offers viewers plenty of bang for their buck. (JH) ***1/2
