Gangster Squad looks the part, but it's so superficial it practically evaporates before our eyes.
Gangster Squad
No names. No badges. No mercy.
2013 · 1h 53m · R
Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Directed by
Ruben Fleischer
Overview
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.
Director and cast
- Ruben Fleischer Director
- Josh Brolin as John O'Mara
- Ryan Gosling as Sgt. Jerry Wooters
- Sean Penn as Mickey Cohen
- Nick Nolte as Bill Parker
- Emma Stone as Grace Faraday
- Anthony Mackie as Coleman Harris
- Giovanni Ribisi as Conway Keeler
- Frank Grillo as Jimmy reagan
- Robert Patrick as Max Kennard
- Michael Peña as Navidad Ramirez
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
Some of the clothes and makeup feel as glossy as paint, but, those aside, we seem to browsing through a display of secondhand goods.
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.
Director Ruben Fleischer and screenwriter Will Beall can't decide whether to make a spoof or a serious drama, so they wrongheadedly attempt both.
Gangster Squad" is a highly stylized, pulp-fiction period piece based on true events.
More films
Forrest Gump (1994)
Comedy · Drama · Romance · PG-13
A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.
- Runtime
- 2h 22m
- Director
- Robert Zemeckis
- Cast
- Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise
The Dark (2005)
Horror · Mystery · Thriller · R
In an attempt to pull her family together, Adèlle travels with her young daughter Sarah to Wales to visit her father. The morning after they arrive, Sarah mysteriously vanishes in the ocean. Not long after, a little girl bearing a striking resemblance to their missing daughter reveals that she has retuned from the dead — and that Sara...
- Runtime
- 1h 27m
- Director
- John Fawcett
- Cast
- Maria Bello, Sean Bean, Abigail Stone
Jackie Brown (1997)
Crime · Drama · Thriller · R
Jackie Brown is a flight attendant who gets caught in the middle of smuggling cash into the country for her gunrunner boss. When the cops try to use Jackie to get to her boss, she hatches a plan — with help from a bail bondsman — to keep the money for herself.
- Runtime
- 2h 34m
- Director
- Quentin Tarantino
- Cast
- Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert De Niro
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Drama · PG
At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern headmaster.
- Runtime
- 2h 9m
- Director
- Peter Weir
- Cast
- Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Crime · Drama · Horror · Thriller · Not Rated
Francis, a young man, recalls in his memory the horrible experiences he and his fiancée Jane recently went through. Francis and his friend Alan visit The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, an exhibit where the mysterious doctor shows the somnambulist Cesare, and awakens him for some moments from his death-like sleep.
- Runtime
- 1h 17m
- Director
- Robert Wiene
- Cast
- Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Fehér
Underground (2007)
Action · Not Rated
In the UK suburbs, an underground tournament is set to challenge twelve fighters from different backgrounds to compete for the price of £500,000. They have been handpicked for a no-holds barred competition that will push each fighter to their limit. Each fighter has their own reason for competing, and each will give everything they've ...
- Runtime
- 1h 35m
- Director
- Chee Keong Cheung
- Cast
- Mark Strange, Nathan Lewis, Joey Ansah
Bodyguard: A New Beginning (2008)
Action · Drama · Thriller · R
Leung is the bodyguard of a Chinese Triad boss, Wong, to whom his loyalty is unrivaled. Living in Hong Kong, Wong requests that his bodyguard travel to the UK to protect a young British woman, whose true identity is known only by Wong himself. Even Wong's son, Yuen, is kept in the dark, which leads to a betrayal that threatens to destr...
- Runtime
- 1h 35m
- Director
- Chee Keong Cheung
- Cast
- Vincent Sze Cho-Lam, Richard Ng Yiu-Hon, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa











Comments
Talk about the film with other members