Watch Gangster Squad Online.
The trailers for Gangster Squad proudly tout stylized noir crime drama
grounded in a ”based on a true story” plot setup – promising an
unrelenting tale of L.A. cops and mobsters. However, anyone familiar
with the source material, Gangster Squad: Covert Cops, the Mob, and the
Battle for Los Angeles from journalist Paul Lieberman, will likely
remember a comparatively subdued chronicle of events (albeit with flashy
and exciting language). As a result, there’s a significant contrast
between the “real” story (even though Lieberman included his own
elaborations) and the one depicted onscreen – as actual events and
people have been exaggerated to fit Hollywood gangster movie tropes.
Still,
an amplified tale of the Gangster Squad has the potential to be a great
mobster drama – alongside similar offerings like The Untouchables, The
Departed and LA Confidential. Does director Ruben Fleischer successfully
balance that “true” story intrigue with impactful onscreen drama and
entertaining characters for a great (albeit embellished) movie
experience? Catch on Watch Gangster Squad Online Free
Fleischer
is best known for the flashy and tongue-in-cheek dramedy Zombieland, so
it’s not surprising that Gangster Squad is a hyper-stylized take on the
gangster genre. The movie utilizes a mix of fictional and real-life
characters, and marries slow-motion gun fights, exploding cars, and
neck-snapping fisticuffs with a very grounded and serious moral tale
about men of power and the horrors of heroism. Watch Gangster Squad Online Free
The combination lands Gangster Squad in an awkward grey area: a number
of charming performances and memorable one-liners make the film
engaging, but plot holes and shortsighted character actions leave an
underwhelming overall impression. Worst of all, the focus on
style-over-substance impairs nearly all of the intended opportunities
for genuine emotional connection or striking ideas about Gangster Squad
morality – as if Fleischer put too much energy into nodding to noir
genre staples without also offering any fresh or unique ideas.
Watch Gangster Squad Online.
Lieberman’s Tales from the Gangster Squad first appeared in the LA
Times back in 2008 as a seven-part series chronicling a band of eight
covert law enforcement agents attempting to free Los Angeles from the
clutches of organized crime during the 1940s and 1950s. Fleischer’s film
tightens that activity window as Police Chief Bill Parker recruits
former war veteran and no-nonsense cop Sergeant John O’Mara (Josh
Brolin) for a last ditch, no-holds-barred effort to destroy a criminal
network built by mobster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn). O’Mara, with the
assistance of his wife Connie O’Mara (Mireille Enos), selects five other
do-gooder cops to join his team – Captain Coleman Harris (Anthony
Mackie), Sergeant Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), Detective Conway Keeler
(Giovanni Ribisi), Detective Navidad Ramirez (Michael Peña), and
Detective Max Kennard (Robert Patrick) - each man possessing a skill set
and personal reason for joining the fight against Cohen.
Watch Gangster Squad Movie.
The story provides a very straightforward series of developments and
moves competently from point to point. Gunfights and criminal encounters
dot from one iconic Los Angeles locale to the next, and the modern CGI
visuals provide a striking retro look at the city. A beautiful set-piece
in a Chinatown-like setting replaces the infamous “Theater Shooting”
scene that was scrapped after the Aurora, CO theater tragedy – and, in
spite of the delay, still successfully conveys the magnitude and
recklessness of Cohen’s reign of terror.
Download Gangster Squad Movie.
The film version of Cohen depicts a ruthless monster that only cares
about expanding his influence and power by any means necessary, and Penn
presents an enjoyable and believable interpretation of the mobster (who
was no saint in real life, either). Some moviegoers may be distracted
from time to time by Penn’s prosthetic make-up, but in this world of
flashy neon sets and numerous fedora hat-tips, a stiff-faced villain is
right at home. The performance won’t set a new standard for layered
mobster characters, but Cohen is a cruel touchstone for the story at
hand – one that helps highlight interesting shades of moral ambiguity in
members of the Gangster Squad.
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