Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Movie Review: Gangster Squad

A friend of mine wanted to see a movie and knowing I like to go to movies, off we went to see Gangster Squad. This is an incredibly well acted movie, depicting the 1940's in Los Angeles and how there was a special squad created in order to stop the mob - in particular Sean Penn as the Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen. Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, and four others band together to stop them. This squad is created by Nick Nolte playing the Police Chief. These four cops basically go undercover, perhaps the beginning of undercover policemen - who knows. In the end the leader of the group, John O'Mara played by Josh Brolin unfortunately, although alive, has to leave the police force while the others remain. But the fact remains they did their job, while losing two of their team.
How accurate this film is I don't know, but it certainly holds your attention. I found myself not looking at parts, I found myself blanching at other scenes and at times wondering why I came to see this. Yet I enjoyed it, I find that I'm much more sensitive to human pain, like punching, because I can imagine how that feels on the ribs, face etc. these days (Perhaps because I spent so long with pain).  But the interplay between them all was great. Emma Stone, as Mickey's Moll (remember that's what Mobsters gals were called, but in love with Ryan Gosling's character did her usual great job. Emma and Ryan had been together before and their chemistry together does work.
I can recommend this movie for those that don't mind the get down and dirty. There are some gruesome scenes in this, but by and large it is 'doable' for the faint of heart don't go. It does tell a story of those days, what went on and as they say at the end of the movie, to this day, the Mob does not exist in Los Angeles, or so they say.
3 1/2 out of 5.

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