Gangster Squad
- (January 11, 2013): R
Distributor: Warner
Bros. Pictures
Opening Weekend Box Office:
#3 with $17,070,347
Domestic Box Office
Gross to-date: $33,415,000
Gross Revenue: $52,415,000
Production Budget:
$60 million
Director: Ruben Fleischer
The gangster film has proven an
immensely popular subgenre in the past, but the main factor that spelled
potential for Gangster Squad had to
be the crowd-pleaser cast, whether that included young A-listers like Ryan
Gosling and Emma Stone, or more seasoned veterans like Josh Brolin and Sean
Penn. In terms of directorial responsibilities,
it was a little strange to see Ruben Fleischer helming a serious crime drama,
as his last film credits included Zombieland
and 30 Minutes or Less, but such an
unusual choice inspired curiosity rather than skepticism. Though initially slated as a September
release, Warner Bros. was forced into some serious damage control in the wake
of the 2012 Aurora shooting, as a key scene from the film featured the main
characters attacking gangsters by firing submachine guns through the screen
into a movie theater audience. That isn’t
the kind of association that anyone wants, so you have to give the studio
credit for not only removing the scene from trailers, but also cutting the
sequence from the film entirely and reconvening the cast for some reshoots…sure,
audiences had to now wait until January, but the new retooled trailer looked
just as enticing as the original. With
Academy favorites like Zero Dark Thirty
and Silver Linings Playbook vying for
audience attention, Gangster Squad
wasn’t likely to earn any last-minute awards nominations, but in no way was
that going to make the final product any less entertaining.
Set in post-WWII Los Angeles, Gangster Squad introduces audiences to
Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn), a ruthless gangster who serves as the most powerful
figure in the California criminal underworld; controlling criminals, the
courts, and the police through intimidation, bribery, and murder. In an attempt to stop Cohen’s stranglehold on
the city, LAPD Chief Bill Parker (Nick Nolte) creates a secret police unit
granted special jurisdiction to take down Cohen’s operations, putting Sgt. John
O’Mara (Josh Brolin) in charge of leading and recruiting additional members to
the squad. Bringing together Sgt. Jerry
Wooters (Ryan Gosling), detectives Coleman Harris (Anthony Mackie), Conway
Keeler (Giovanni Ribisi), Navidad Ramirez (Michael Peña), and Max Kennard
(Robert Patrick), “the Gangster Squad” is formed and begins destroying Cohen’s
wire gambling business. Adding insult to
injury, Wooters also begins a relationship with Cohen’s girlfriend and social
etiquette teacher, Grace Faraday (Emma Stone), gaining valuable information
about Cohen’s operations while also working to help Faraday escape Cohen’s
influence. Eventually realizing that a
police squad is responsible for all his recent misfortunes, Cohen declares war
on “the Gangster Squad,” putting all the officers and their families in immense
danger and leading to inevitable bloody conflict.
In focusing on a gangster of Mickey
Cohen’s notoriety, one would expect a fair amount of violence within this look
at the criminal underworld, and thankfully, Gangster
Squad more than delivers with brutal and bloody vigilante justice. Don’t get me wrong, Sean Penn is pretty
intimidating as a mob boss and is definitely someone you would not want to
cross, but Josh Brolin is the biggest badass onscreen, and neither he nor Ryan
Gosling shows any qualms about brutally beating or executing criminals that
have been deemed guilty. Add to the
equation some gripping car chases, bloody brawls, and a truly awesome lobby
shootout, and Gangster Squad has
plenty of action to keep audiences focused on and truly invested in the
operations of our heroes. And, in
speaking of our titular heroes, the squad themselves are some instantaneously
likable individuals; they may benefit largely from the inherent star power of
their respective actors, but it is still entertaining to watch this particular team
work together in the enjoyably nostalgic environment. Sadly though, once you look beyond the
novelty of the violence and this particular set of actors, there is a
disappointing lack of energy and originality that severely weakens Gangster Squad’s overall quality.
For as many high-caliber names as
are present in Gangster Squad, I
would have expected far more memorable performances, but instead of this
disappointment resulting from weak acting, it seems that several missteps from
a number of filmmaking components are to blame for squandering the talent
involved. Like I hinted at earlier in
the “Short and Sweet” review, Sean Penn was actually pretty compelling in his
portrayal of a villain, but any fear you might associate with him is instantly
forgotten once you take the time to focus on his makeup…I understand that his
face is supposed to be beat up since his character is a former boxer, but the
man looked ridiculous. Even Emma Stone,
with whom I can normally find no wrong, feels out of place in her role; she has
built her career as an independent and sassy actress, so the personality we all
associate with her just doesn’t fit a damsel-in-distress. And, for as enjoyable as it was to watch the “Gangster
Squad” working together, I really wish that the script had left some room for
individual character development, as there was significant potential in what
made Josh Brolin so determined or Ryan Gosling so apathetic; but, nope, there
was zero chance of any of these characters becoming deeper than run-of-the mill
gunslingers. So, suffice it to say that
between the script, the casting, and the makeup, it was disappointing to see so
many components suck the energy and quality out of what should have been a
brilliant thriller.
Despite the pedigree of those
involved and the inherent momentum of a star-studded crime drama, no one really
expected Gangster Squad to outshine
the highly-anticipated wide release of the controversial Best Picture
contender, Zero Dark Thirty. In fact, the real surprise had to do with a
$17 million weekend receipt failing to outperform a Wayans’ Bros. spoof comedy
that had been thoroughly crucified by critics.
True, critics weren’t exactly giddy over Gangster Squad (and rightfully so), but the film was still
entertaining and deserves to be placed above A Haunted House…maybe the association with the Aurora shooting
resonated too strongly with audiences and many just opted for the cheap
laugh. Luckily, between domestic and
international receipts, Gangster Squad
isn’t too far off from recovering its production budget; but with so many new
releases like Hansel and Gretel: Witch
Hunters, Movie 43, and Parker, opening soon, runaway financial
success isn’t likely. In the end, if you
are looking for some mindless violence and some cinematic fun, Gangster Squad isn’t a bad bet…just don’t
be looking forward to anything too deep.
Overall Recommendation: Medium
