Gangster Squad

I've been meaning to post this film for a while. First off, let em apologize. I'm not too reliable when it comes to posting on the movies I see. I'm watching roughly a half a dozen a week, and it just slips my mind to always write up on them - that or I'm just plain lazy. (OK, I'm lazy.) This one, however, deserves someone coming to its defense.

There's was a lot of hype prior to Gangster Squad's release. I mean, you got an stellar cast tackling the Mickey Cohen crime story set in the iconic 1940's Los Angeles. The story of crooked cops and dangerous gangsters and the few that are willing to risk it all to do some good - a story the public always seems to love. It's the complete set up for another L.A. Confidential or The Untouchables. And with the original release date slated for December (the winter blockbuster season) it suddenly got pushed to January... the film industry's dumping ground for all their failed projects. None-the-less, I was disappointed when the rescheduled release date was announced, even more depressed when RottenTomatoes reviewed the film at 32%, and completely downhearted when the film pulled in a measly $46 million in total for its domestic run in theaters. (Short of its $60 million production budget.) Despite all this, I picked it up a few weeks ago and found myself pleasantly surprised despite all the negativity surrounding it.

First off, everyone is trying to sell this a "true crime" story. Maybe some sort of mystery-drama piece. It's not any of that. What it is, is your basic shoot-em-up action movie. Personally, I love these flicks. Lot of gun fights and a lot of bare-knuckle brawls... that's what you get in this picture, on top of some pretty great performances. I loved Sean Penn as Mickey Cohen. No, it's no going to win him another Academy nomination or anything, but it's gritty, unrefined, and fun. Plus there's some pretty great one liners: "Here comes Santi Claus!" right as Cohen, armed with a tommy gun, enters into the final gun fight centered around a display Christmas tree.

Despite her love of Emily Stone and Ryan Gosling, I think Kelsi fell in line with the masses' with this film - and there's nothing wrong/surprising with that. It's not particularly smart or enchanting movie. There are no specific scenes I'll cherish or a soundtrack that I'll continuously hum in my head (unlike Ennio Morricone's work in The Untouchables). Dialogue can by a bit dry. Plot is fairly predictable. But if you walk into it with your expectations prepared for your basic run-of-the-mill shoot-em-up movie, then I think you leave pleasantly surprised. 

Oh, and it has one hell of a trailer...