Men in dapper dress, a “tomato” of a doll, and a rubber-faced gangster populate the crooked city of Los Angeles in director Ruben Fleischer’s (of “Zombieland” fame) crime flick, “Gangster Squad,” which is inspired by a true story. This film ought to have been quite good, considering the source material, concept, and actors. It ought to have been good, but was decidedly mediocre.
The story should be an instant classic. It could capture the imagination with a heartbeat: a cruel gangster (Sean Penn) has Los Angeles in a vise. All authorities bow to him, except the honest police chief (Nick Nolte), who asks an ex-military special forces police sergeant (Josh Brolin) to lead an off the books, strictly illegal, fight terror with terror, “gangster squad” to take down the kingpin. Meanwhile Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone become romantically involved, because that’s what happens when two highly attractive people meet each other in a bar, obviously. It’s inspired by a true story too, so you can’t accuse it of relying on formula.
“Gangster Squad” should have evoked John Wayne and Clint Eastwood films. Men with guns on the side of law and order taking the law into their own hands and shooting men with guns who want to watch the world burn—like the Batman saga, but not, because of that inconsistent no-guns rule. But while John Wayne and Clint Eastwood films of that ilk are sometimes distractingly old, “Gangster Squad” is simply distractingly bad.
A poorly paced, sometimes slow, suddenly rushed script hamstrings the story, despite all of the compelling potential. Character’s introductions establish why the audience should care about them without actually establishing empathy in many cases. Heavy-handed “meaningful” dialogue arrives with conveniently predictable regularity. Character development remains in the background to middling-fair action sequences. Explosions figure prominently.
Presumably due to the lack of quality material to work with, the collection of actors in “Gangster Squad” underwhelms. Josh Brolin delivers his lines in an old-timey tough guy monotone. Sean Penn would shine as the menacing Mickey Cohen if he didn’t look so botoxed in his prosthetics. Ryan Gosling doesn’t sound like he’s from any identifiable part of North America. Everyone seems to have watched as many old black-and-white crime films as possible to figure out what mannerisms to adopt. Perhaps they are historically accurate, but it looks an awful lot like acting like you’re acting like a detective in the late 40’s. Emma Stone offers some respite, but her character is hardly developed.
“Gangster Squad” ought to have been a beautiful movie. Art Deco Los Angeles, Zoot Suits, Ryan Gosling, fedoras, great clothes, Emma Stone, wide ties, crime noir influences, more Ryan Gosling, and old cars should have all come together to make a visually arresting story-telling canvas. Alas for cinematography. Every motion of the camera is visible, yanking the viewer out of the story at critical junctions. The colors are darkened, but the film appears obviously digital and perhaps oversaturated. Explosions and fires all look CGI, whether they are or not is beside the point. Seemingly random additions of slow motion sequences add to the general feel of artificiality. The art of the movie distracts from the story and hinders immersion in the events on screen.
The film was not entirely without redeeming qualities. “Gangster Squad” was mediocre, not abysmal. Smartly suited good guys bringing a world of hurt to slightly less smartly suited bad guys with pistols and tommy guns blazing certainly entertains and even engages in interesting moral dilemmas, if heavy-handedly. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling paired up again like in “Crazy, Stupid Love” is a pleasant distraction. Josh Brolin’s character’s wife serves as a welcome breath of fresh air.
“Gangster Squad” ought to be a great movie. But, like the rubber prosthetic face hiding Sean Penn, technical flaws, pacing, and script all restrain the story from capturing the heart or mind of its viewers.
mmeadowcroft@hillsdale.edu
