As a rule it’s important to never go into a movie presuming too much before seeing it. But when the movie in question happens to have an actor who’s generally known for winning Academy Awards receiving top billing (Sean Penn) and is also period piece, it’s not altogether unreasonable to assume you’re about to watch something with a little substance. Or, failing that, at least a movie that assumes the viewers is an adult. “Gangster Squad” is neither of these things. If the title wasn’t enough to give it away, the movie isn’t exactly going for a serious tone. Instead “Gangster Squad” prefers the over-the-top, style over substance approach that has all the pacing and consistency of a Saturday morning cartoon. The good news is once you accept this you can began to enjoy the silliness of it all.
Set in shortly after World War II, the city of Los Angeles finds itself in the grasps of an Eastern mob leader, Mickey Cohen. With his men in place at every level of the city government and every cop in his pocket, he seems poised to rule his growing crime empire on the West Coast unopposed. Police Chief Parker seeks out one of the only cops left who both has a sense of honor and is willing to put his life on the line (Josh Brolin) to assemble an unofficial vigilante squad to take the fight to Cohen.
Plot wise, you can’t get much more simpler. The titular squad themselves don’t receive much development or interact nearly enough to feel like anything more than cardboard cutouts of characters you’ve already seen before. Brolin plays the stoic, incorruptible leader. Sergeant Wooters (Gossiling) is the young flirt who’s in love with “Mickey’s girl” (Emma Stone). Detective Harris (Anthony Mackie) is a black officer who’s really good at throwing knives. Detective Conway (Giovanni Ribis) is an Old West gunslinger. And his partner Ramirez (Michael Pena) is his Mexican best friend. And that’s it. Characterization is actually limited to these bare elements. Even the villainous Mickey Cohen played by Sean Penn doesn’t have much depth beyond “yells a lot in a funny accent” and “villainous one-liners” The paper thin plot is hindered even more by a terribly written, cliche-heavy script.
But what Gangster Squad does have going for it that saves it from being completely un-enjoyable is the strength of its casting. For what little material there is, these actors have enough charisma to carry it. And where the script is weak, sleek montages of gun fights, fist fights and gangster mayhem set to toe-tapping swing music come in to keep the film from ever dragging. From the look of the cast to the feel of the movie, Gangster Squad makes no bare bones about the fact that it’s all sex appeal with little substance but manages to be more enjoyable than it should. C+
