a5c7b9f00b It's 1949 Los Angeles, and gangster Mickey Cohen has moved in, with the intention of controlling all criminal activity in the city. He has bought local judges and police, and no one is willing to cross him or testify against him. Everyone except Sergeant John O'Mara, a former World War II soldier, whose goal is to settle with his family in a peaceful Los Angeles. Police Chief William Parker decides to form a special unit whose mission is to take down Cohen, and chooses O'Mara to lead the unit. O'Mara chooses 4 cops and asks another cop and vet, Jerry Wooters to join him but Wooters is not interested. But when he witnesses the murder of a young boy by Cohen's people, he joins them, and they decide to take apart Cohen's organization. Cohen wonders if a rival is going after him, but eventually he realizes it's the cops. It's 1949 Los Angeles, the city is run by gangsters and a malicious mobster, Mickey Cohen. Determined to end the corruption, John O'Mara assembles a team of cops, ready to take down the ruthless leader and restore peace to the city. Review originally posted on InspirationRation.com - 'Gangster Squad' tells the story of a small team of Los Angeles cops who take on the task of waging war against the swiftly growing East Coast Mafia presence in their city. Set in 1949 LA, this war is fought with tommy guns, fedoras, and style.<br/><br/>Sean Penn plays Mickey Cohen, a ruthless mob-boss with great ambitions. He has LA in his grasp. Hundreds of politicians, judges and cops are in his pocket. Still he wants more, and he is poised to take over all off- track betting revenue in the western part of the USA. Sgt. John O'Mara (played by Josh Brolin) receives permission to go after him, but he'll have to go outside the law. He gets together a ragtag team of honest cops, and starts a war.<br/><br/>The acting is great in 'Gangster Squad'. Especially Sean Penn as Mickey Cohen is impressive; it is evident that he had fun playing such a dynamic and extremely volatile character. But Josh Brolin, Emma Stone and the supporting cast also truly hold their own here. It is not just the acting, but also the way the characters are written that really adds to the movie. As stated, the group of cops is pretty diverse, and each character has its own personality and quirks to play with. This in turn also allows for some good humour here and there. The only odd character one out in my opinion was Ryan Gosling's character, whom I didn't really 'get'.<br/><br/>The film features some amazing directing; Interesting and stylistic, with some really great and creative camera shots. Dynamic camera-angle switches, indoor crane shots, long semi-complicated takes, and – most memorable to me – a close-up dolly zoom shot mid-punch in the middle of a fighting scene. A really cool effect.<br/><br/>'Gangster Squad' features plenty of impressive action. There are good era-specific gun-and fist-fights, but there is also some more extreme dual tommygun-wielding, stick-grenade hot potato play action going on. Both really nicely done and just plain entertaining. There is a car chase which I would deem uncharacteristically over the top ridiculous, but this is addressed in the plot as well, so I'll let it slide. All the action (as well as the rest of the movie) is accompanied by good music, not great, but satisfactory.<br/><br/>As always with a period movie, I have to take a moment to address the impressive way in which they managed to portray 1949 Los Angeles. The empty skyline in the background, streets filled with old-timer cars, and the classic sign when Hollywood was still Hollywoodland.<br/><br/>All combined 'Gangster Squad' is just an all-round great flick, one which I highly recommend you go see. The acting, directing, action, and style of the film are all tremendous. It never bores, but constantly entertains. And if that doesn't convince you, it has Emma friggin' Stone in it, so what more do you want? Go watch this! - Review originally posted on InspirationRation.com "The Gangsters" seems to follow "The Untouchables" in many respects. The demure pregnant wife at home, the way the squad is picked, the poor kid dying, an unintended victim of the gang war. (it was a bomb and a little girl in the Untouchables) The practice on the improvised shooting range. The geeky guy who is an unlikely but invaluable member of the team. And so on. The opening scene promises to show Cohen as evil and violent. He is both but Sean Penn didn't seem to be convinced. Maybe he just doesn't see himself as a really bad guy. There are enough interesting historical references, car chases, good cop/bad cop, divided loyalties, intrigue and so on, to keep it engaging. It's inevitably violent but mostly in context. I particularly like the bomb maker. There's the occasional gratuitous 'I'll shoot you because i'm a policeman and I can' scene but that's par for the course. Apart from the 'Untouchables' similarities "The Gangster Squad" is engaging and entertaining, a little predictable. Just don't overthink it. Though based partly on actual events, Ruben Fleischer's ludicrous shoot-'em-up plays fast and loose with the facts, and plenty else besides.
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