'Gangster Squad' tells the 'true' story about a small group of LA police officers who try to take down crime boss Mickey Cohen. It's full of action-packed gun fights and bar brawls and almost every movie cliché you can think of.
There's a huge cast in this film which is probably why it has done so well at the box office. Most actors do the best they can; Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Emma Stone and Nick Nolte have all proved they are talented actors before this but the extraordinarily bland, predictable and cheesy dialogue prevents any of their talent from shining through. Sean Penn's performance is the most embarrassing, mainly because you can tell he is taking the role way too seriously and he clearly thinks he can make this film the next 'Goodfellas'. Instead, his performance makes the entire film seem like the next swashbuckling adventure with Peter Pan – Penn being Captain Hook of course. He is so over the top here he changes the tone of the film with his terrible attempts at catchphrases – 'Here comes Santy Claus' .really? Aside from this disastrous performance, the rest are pretty basic and will probably be used as examples in acting 101 classes.
Again, the script is mediocre at best. It's predictable and you can tell from the beginning who will die and who won't. Conversations are boring and basic, monologues have all been done before and there's nothing new here. The film is littered with plot holes and unexplained revelations which you think will be dealt with later at some point but don't. Someone described this film as being like every gangster film rolled into one but it wasn't even as interesting as that. The whole film is like a big smug pat on the back for director Ruben Fleischer and co. despite it being completely undeserved.
Overall, this is your average gangster film. There's nothing new, nothing controversial, nothing ground-breaking here. It has been advertised to the wrong crowd; the all too frequent but sometimes funny scenes would appeal to a younger audience yet they have thrown in bizarre graphic scenes of violence which means only people over 15 can see it. A 12 year old is more likely to enjoy this film. The only reason you should go to see this is if you're a boy and you want to see Emma Stone or, if you're a girl, to see Ryan Gosling for a few hours. Instead of watching Gangster Squad, watch 'Goodfellas' or anything that doesn't make you wish you had just gone to see 'Les Miserables' for a second time.
There's a huge cast in this film which is probably why it has done so well at the box office. Most actors do the best they can; Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Emma Stone and Nick Nolte have all proved they are talented actors before this but the extraordinarily bland, predictable and cheesy dialogue prevents any of their talent from shining through. Sean Penn's performance is the most embarrassing, mainly because you can tell he is taking the role way too seriously and he clearly thinks he can make this film the next 'Goodfellas'. Instead, his performance makes the entire film seem like the next swashbuckling adventure with Peter Pan – Penn being Captain Hook of course. He is so over the top here he changes the tone of the film with his terrible attempts at catchphrases – 'Here comes Santy Claus' .really? Aside from this disastrous performance, the rest are pretty basic and will probably be used as examples in acting 101 classes.
Again, the script is mediocre at best. It's predictable and you can tell from the beginning who will die and who won't. Conversations are boring and basic, monologues have all been done before and there's nothing new here. The film is littered with plot holes and unexplained revelations which you think will be dealt with later at some point but don't. Someone described this film as being like every gangster film rolled into one but it wasn't even as interesting as that. The whole film is like a big smug pat on the back for director Ruben Fleischer and co. despite it being completely undeserved.
Overall, this is your average gangster film. There's nothing new, nothing controversial, nothing ground-breaking here. It has been advertised to the wrong crowd; the all too frequent but sometimes funny scenes would appeal to a younger audience yet they have thrown in bizarre graphic scenes of violence which means only people over 15 can see it. A 12 year old is more likely to enjoy this film. The only reason you should go to see this is if you're a boy and you want to see Emma Stone or, if you're a girl, to see Ryan Gosling for a few hours. Instead of watching Gangster Squad, watch 'Goodfellas' or anything that doesn't make you wish you had just gone to see 'Les Miserables' for a second time.