Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and — if he has his way — every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop… except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara and Jerry Wooters who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart.
Gangster Squad" is a highly stylized, pulp-fiction period piece based on true events.
– Richard Roeper,
Richard Roeper.com,
11 Jan 2013
rotten:
Director Ruben Fleischer and screenwriter Will Beall can't decide whether to make a spoof or a serious drama, so they wrongheadedly attempt both.
– Peter Rainer,
Christian Science Monitor,
11 Jan 2013
fresh:
It might sound like a stretch, imagining Penn playing that intense, indiosyncratic a villain. But the lauded, veteran actor pulls a left hook, then a right, and after a wild bodyshot at the tail end of the film, you see the true mania behind his eyes.
– Ricardo Baca,
Denver Post,
11 Jan 2013
rotten:
Some of the clothes and makeup feel as glossy as paint, but, those aside, we seem to browsing through a display of secondhand goods.
– Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
21 Jan 2013
rotten:
Gangster Squad looks the part, but it's so superficial it practically evaporates before our eyes.