Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) and his goons Johnny Stomp (James Carpinello, left) and Neddy Herbert (Evan Jones, right) in "Gangster Squad." Photo by Wilson Webb.
Despite a stellar cast that includes Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Emma Stone and Giovanni Ribisi, Gangster Squad looks like it could go either way. On the one hand, it’s portrayal of late ’40s Los Angeles is stylistically stunning with its period-appropriate costumes, Art Deco architecture and old gangster clichés. But on the other hand, it could just be an impressive assortment of talent all gussied up in retro garb to create a visual feast lacking in any other substance.
As it turns out, Gangster Squad is cheesy as hell, but intentionally so. Then I realized that director Ruben Fleischer was also behind the similarly tongue in cheek Zombieland, which was one of the better horror comedies in recent memory. But even though Gangster Squad is almost a caricature of old gangster flicks, with its colorful characters in fedoras, tough guy posturing and edge-of-your-seat car chases, it’s actually somewhat based on actual events (or at least the characters are based on detectives and gangsters who actually existed in L.A. during that era).
Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling) woos Grace Faraday (Emma Stone) in "Gangster Squad." Photo by Wilson Webb.
Penn plays a retired Brooklyn boxer named Mickey Cohen who is determined to become the crime lord of L.A. The fact that most cops and politicians treat him like a celebrity certainly helps his cause. But Brolin leads a group of off-the-record cops whose mission is to systematically wipe out Cohen’s gambling operations before taking down Cohen himself. And to further complicate the situation, Gosling’s detective is fooling around with Cohen’s moll Grace.
Of course, there’s a lot of flashy fighting and comedic dialogue between the squad members throughout the rest of the film. Robert Patrick’s quick-drawing cowboy and his sidekick Navidad (Michael Peña) are particularly entertaining. But Fleischer’s flair for visuals is what often ends up being the scene stealer. For instance, during one close-combat scene involving guns, each time a shot is fired the frame freezes for a second, creating a very Dick Tracy-like comic strip feel. And during a climactic shootout between Penn and Brolin, we get slow-motion closeups of the ornaments from the Christmas tree being shattered in the crossfire.
Mickey Cohen (Penn) and Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) in the final battle of "Gangster Squad." Photo by Wilson Webb.
Even though Gangster Squad is a bit of a gangster parody, it still offers enough serious action and intrigue to keep it from being a total spoof. And the chemistry between the actors (especially Brolin’s hero and Penn’s villain) creates a compelling rivalry that plays out as violently as the rest of the film. The fact that some of this stiff kind of actually happened just makes Gangster Squad that much more interesting and enjoyable.