Gangster Squad (2013)
Starring Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, Michael Peña, Mirielle Enos, and Sean Penn
Directed by Ruben Fleischer
Los Angeles. 1949. Gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) and his goons have taken control of everything and everyone. The cops. The politicians. The drug dealers. Even a good cop like Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) is being told by his superiors to let Mickey be. However, police chief Bill Parker (Nick Nolte) hasn't been bought by the mob and he commissions O'Mara to form a gangster squad of cops under the table to infiltrate all aspects of Cohen's shady dealings.
I must say that two-thirds of the way through the "based on a true story" Gangster Squad, I was digging the slight buddy comedy-retro action vibe that was going on amidst O'Mara and his cronies played by Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, and Michael Peña. There were enough hints of humor, drama, and action that it made each scene leading up to the final act interesting enough to not feel so derivative of movies past. However, when the final act kicks in and the Gangster Squad actually comes face to face with Cohen, the film falls apart for me. The action scenes prove to be bland and the big showdown with Cohen himself is a bit of a letdown. No one was ever going to say Gangster Squad was fantastic, but it had potential that it somewhat squanders in the end.
However, the film has a real solid cast going for it. I wanted to dislike Sean Penn immensely because I can't really stand the pretentious guy in real life, but he makes a decent bad guy here, and Mirielle Enos brings just enough of a stock character to life in her role as O'Mara's wife, helping to humanize and give a more well-rounded portrayal of her husband.
The stars, really, are Josh Brolin and his gang. Brolin's actually the lead here (despite the fact that I thought this was going to be Ryan Gosling's show all the way) and he steps up to the plate in a role that, in a better written film, may have had potential to be something really special. Still, as it stands now, he's completely compelling and makes his quiet scenes with Enos have just as much meaning as the ones with his cop buddies. And it's in those scenes with his cronies that the film really springs to life. Brolin, Gosling, Ribisi, Patrick, Mackie, and Peña really make each other better and play off each other quite well.
Like I said, though, the film flounders in the final act. Perhaps it's because the film's end was reshot after 2012's horrible Aurora, CO, movie theater shooting and the whole thing just didn't come together, or perhaps the screenwriter just didn't have a solid way to conclude the flick. While the first two-thirds certainly aren't perfect (a love story between Gosling and Emma Stone should've really been left on the editing room floor), Gangster Squad is a fun ride for about seventy minutes and a bit of a letdown in its final thirty.
The RyMickey Rating: C+
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