"Gangster Squad" is a crime action/drama based on events in the 1940's and 50's in Los Angeles when the LA Police Department police chief (played by Nick Nolte) created a special unit called the "Gangster Squad" to combat gangster Mickey Cohen (played by Sean Penn). The Gangster Squad is led by John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and his men include Jerry Whooters (Ryan Gosling), Coleman Harris (Anthony Mackie), Conway Keeler (Giovanni Ribisi) and Navidad Rameriz (Michael Pena). Complicating the situation is Jerry's romancing Mickey's girlfriend Grace (Emma Stone). The Gangster Squad begins disrupting Mickey's operations while searching for the location of his wire gambling business, which is the heart of Mickey's empire. Mickey meanwhile attempts to grow the wire gambling business and find then punish the Gangster Squad for threatening his "progress."
Despite the big-name cast, this film is largely forgettable. Penn makes a good bad guy but he's up against a very bland hero in Brolin. Decent supporting work by Gosling, Mackie, and Ribsi in particular but the dull script really didn't give them much to work with. Characters were largely undeveloped, especially Stone's, and dialogue is stilted. Chemistry between Gosling and Stone is almost non-existent. The shoot-em up violence is greatly prioritized. On the upside there is nice cinematography and the 40's/50's in LA looks glamorous.
Nice-looking film with much more bullets than depth - D+
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