Gangster Squad
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Year Released: 2013
Rating: 1.0
Faced with the problem of how to stop the madness brought on by Jewish gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn, hamming it up), L.A. cop Sgt. O'Mara (Josh Brolin) is given the OK by Chief Parker (Nick Nolte) to form a squadron of crime fighters (including Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie and Robert Patrick) to intervene and bust up his racket using nefarious means. Uninspired and unimaginative in every way, this resorts to blood, guts and gunfire to tell its relatively simple story, with a screenplay (by Will Beall) packed with hammy one-liners and poor characterization. With a scintilla of wit and elegance this could have emulated Soderbergh's re-do of Ocean's Eleven; all it has going for it is some crisp cinematography (by Dion Beebe).
