Gangster Squad

This week, Gangster Squad hit theaters. The action packed film follows a group of police officers that act off book to bring down a mobster threatening to take over Los Angeles. Set in LA in the 1940s, Gangster Squad draws on the classic film noire style of movies like Chinatown and The Big Sleep. The combination of the classic noire, fast-paced action, and funny one-liners makes this film great for movie fans. Gangster Squad is based off a true story.

Gangster Squad has an ensemble cast that shines in the costumes of 1940s. Josh Brolin leads the squad of officers, which includes Ryan Gosling, Robert Patrick, Anthony Mackie, Michael Peña, and Giovanni Ribisi. Nick Nolte makes an appearance as the Chief of Police. On the other side of the law, Sean Penn plays Mickey Cohen, the Brooklyn born gangster taking over Los Angeles. Emma Stone rounds out the cast as the woman on Mickey’s arm. The film was very well acted. The cast had great chemistry and it was great to see Gosling and Stone back on the big screen together after Crazy Stupid Love.

As a gangster film, I knew it would be violent, but I actually found it to be a bit gory at points. The film had a lot blood, in addition to the violence. Gangster Squad delayed release due to the extreme violence. Scenes of the film were actually reshot following the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado. Due to change in release date, it was taken out of consideration for this award season. I’m curious to see how it will do next year.

The film presents an interesting look at vigilantes and law enforcement. Since the law was bought out, the officers on the “squad” had to leave the law behind. The secret force violated the law and stooped to Cohen’s level to take him down. For these officers, they leave the squad room and become vigilantes. In their own way, they tear apart the city of Los Angeles to bring down Mickey. Do police officers need to throw out the law to take down a criminal?

Overall, I thought it was great movie. It was an engaging period piece, something I find rare.  The costumes and set design were beautiful. I would suggest this if you are looking for a good film to see. It’s definitely something you should see in theaters.