Gangster Squad

Name: Gangster Squad
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime
Released: January 11, 2013
Duration: 113 min
Rating: 40
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Emma Stone, Giovanni Ribisi, Josh Brolin, Michael Peña

2013

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 338 Ratings

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6.2

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6.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 338 Ratings

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Gangster Squad

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Movie Details & Credits

Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: January 11, 2013 | R

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Emma Stone, Giovanni Ribisi, Josh Brolin, Michael Peña, Nick Nolte, Robert Patrick, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn

Summary: Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and—if he has his way—every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and theLos Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and—if he has his way—every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It's enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop...except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O'Mara and Jerry Wooters, who come together to try to tear Cohen's world apart. "Gangster Squad" is a colorful retelling of events surrounding the LAPD's efforts to take back their nascent city from one of the most dangerous mafia bosses of all time. [Warner Bros. Pictures/Village Roadshow Pictures]… Expand

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Genre(s): Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 113 min

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Critic Reviews

McClatchy-Tribune News Service Roger Moore

Jan 30, 2013

Gangster Squad is a gang war drama built on Western conventions, a rootin' tootin', Camel-smokin', whiskey swillin' shoot'em up. Read full review

James Berardinelli

Jan 10, 2013

Gangster Squad provides a welcome burst of heat and color, even if those qualities are more illusory than real and subject to a fast fade. Read full review

James Mottram

Jan 7, 2013

Typified by Penn's blustery performance, Gangster Squad is sleek, stylish but superficial. Easy on the eye, even easier on the brain, it doesn't last long in the memory. Read full review

Louis Black

Jan 9, 2013

Despite the unrelenting action and the terrific cast, Gangster Squad comes up more scattered than successful. Read full review

Film.com Stephanie Zacharek

Feb 27, 2013

The violence is so indifferently presented that it has no kick; it’s not grim or graphic enough to shock, but it doesn’t rev us up, either. The picture’s various shoot-’em-up sequences are so generically conceived and shot that each one is indistinguishable from the next – by the movie’s end, they may as well all collapse into an exhausted heap. Read full review

Keith Uhlich

Jan 9, 2013

Though based partly on actual events, Ruben Fleischer's ludicrous shoot-'em-up plays fast and loose with the facts, and plenty else besides. Read full review

A.O. Scott

Jan 10, 2013

His (Fleischer) first feature, "Zombieland," was a half-witty genre parody. This one might be described as genre zombie-ism: the hysterical, brainless animation of dead clichés reduced to purposeless, compulsive killing. Too self-serious to succeed as pastiche, it has no reason for being beyond the parasitic urge to feed on the memories of other, better movies. Read full review

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User Reviews

sesostris

Jan 14, 2013

Angels: This is a good gangster movie. The dialog is tough, and smart, the characters are interesting, The plot is exciting, the scenery and costumes are very stylish, and the violence is, well, very violent. What is not to like. I have an admission to make. This movie is really an 8/9,Angels: This is a good gangster movie. The dialog is tough, and smart, the characters are interesting, The plot is exciting, the scenery and costumes are very stylish, and the violence is, well, very violent. What is not to like. I have an admission to make. This movie is really an 8/9, but I gave it a 10, because I wanted to raise its average to combat the 'haters'. Because of the negative reviews I almost did not go to see the movie, but my buddy out-voted me, and I am very glad that he did. Did I say that Sean Penn and Ryan Gosling knock the ball out of the park? Look, those boys really get into character, and I am a sucker for pretty boy Ryan. Now, the critics say, this movie is no LA Confidential. Which must be true, because it's called 'Gangster Squad'. A very enjoyable night out.… Expand

8 of 12 users found this helpful84

vahshy

Jan 14, 2013

5;6; دربار7; ای6; کتاب چیز زیادی 6;5;ید8;6;5; ا5;ا 1;ک ک6;5; خ8;ب باش7; ای6;جا 7;5;5;6; دربار7; ای6; کتاب چیز زیادی 6;5;ید8;6;5; ا5;ا 1;ک ک6;5; خ8;ب باش7; ای6;جا 7;5; کار خاصی 6;دار5; ک4;ا 5;یچرخ5; ببی6;5; ک7; چی 7;ست؟… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

Tokyochuchu

Sep 11, 2013

Gangster Squad is the cheesiest, most unrealistic, cliche ridden and overblown crime film you could ever think of. But man oh man is it fun! Ice cool guys get the beautiful dames, old haggard badasses get to be, um, badass and Sean Penn gets to spew such ridiculous gold as "Here comes SantaGangster Squad is the cheesiest, most unrealistic, cliche ridden and overblown crime film you could ever think of. But man oh man is it fun! Ice cool guys get the beautiful dames, old haggard badasses get to be, um, badass and Sean Penn gets to spew such ridiculous gold as "Here comes Santa Claus!" with a Tommy-gun in his hands. Expecting L.A Confidential? You'll leave disappointed.Go in expecting a cop-based version of Scarface and you'll walk away with a mile-wide grin on your face. Fantastic stuff!… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

analogkid280

Jan 21, 2013

Nitty and gritty. Lots of very clever dialogue. More style than accuracy but this is intentional. Plenty of blood and stars. With all the stars and testosterone in this movie I have to describe it as The Expendables for 1940's gangster movie fans. If this is what you want then you will notNitty and gritty. Lots of very clever dialogue. More style than accuracy but this is intentional. Plenty of blood and stars. With all the stars and testosterone in this movie I have to describe it as The Expendables for 1940's gangster movie fans. If this is what you want then you will not be disappointed. I only gave it a 7 out of 10 since I pretty much had the plot figured out as the movie ran along and got a tad bit tired as the movie came to a close.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

dharma

Apr 29, 2013

This ho hum gangster flick has one of the greatest pedigree in recent months, but has no ambition. Great actors? Check. An acclaimed director? Check. What you have though is simply a straight up action film. nothing more. If you want a more visceral and greater take of this 'rogue cops vsThis ho hum gangster flick has one of the greatest pedigree in recent months, but has no ambition. Great actors? Check. An acclaimed director? Check. What you have though is simply a straight up action film. nothing more. If you want a more visceral and greater take of this 'rogue cops vs gangsters' sub genre, than look up 'The Untouchables'.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

SimpleMethod

Jul 14, 2013

This movie was a disappointment, but not as bad as some critics make it out to be. I thought it was decent, but the trailers made it look fantastic, and it really wasn't.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

fwdixon

Oct 25, 2015

Gangster Squad is a terrible, train wreck of a film.
The acting is uniformly dreadful and the direction seems to have been done by a 1st year film student.
Every genre cliche and stereotype is trotted out for your perusal to the point of inanity. Numerous and pointless gun battles (withGangster Squad is a terrible, train wreck of a film.
The acting is uniformly dreadful and the direction seems to have been done by a 1st year film student.
Every genre cliche and stereotype is trotted out for your perusal to the point of inanity.
Numerous and pointless gun battles (with the cliched slow motion) litter the movie.
Sean Penn's makeup remind one of Big Boy Caprice from Dick Tracy and Penn acts like Big Boy too.
I've seen cheap "B" gangster films from the 50s & 60s that were more intelligent than this abomination… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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