Gangster Squad

          Last night I saw Gangster Squad, the new gangster movie about the Los Angeles Police Department trying to stop Mickey Cohen, a major gang leader in the 1940s and 1950s. The LAPD secretly set up a squad of their best employees to go after Cohen -- using whatever force and tactics needed. This was very controversial since the police were basically breaking the law to stop the greatest lawbreaker, which is pretty ironic. Now to the real business: is this worth your time? Short answer: No. Long answer: well... maybe. The cinematography, set design, and costumes were great. It was really cool because it felt like I was actually in the '40s and the '50s. In a particular scene inside the O'Mara living room, turning the sound off, it would have looked like a clip they would play during an awards show. However, with the sound on, it was a mess. The screenplay often tried too hard to create lines that seemed like the writer wanted to force onto the 101 Greatest Movie Quotes poster. As a result, the trailer was awesome, full of memorable words and such, but they just didn't work in the actual movie. Also, I would have liked to see more of the relationship between Jerry and Grace. Emma Stone (as Grace) was barely in it. Anyway, what really was sad was that you could tell which parts you were supposed to get a little emotional at, but you just couldn't because the set-up hadn't gotten you to feel anything for the characters. As a result, the acting often looked overly dramatic and somewhat ridiculous. For instance, I think Sean Penn was the right choice to play Mickey Cohen, but while he is talking about his glory days toward the end of the film, I didn't feel anything for his character, mainly due to the corny lines he had recited earlier on. Despite all these failures, the movie was entertaining. When I saw it yesterday, some people laughed and responded to the feeble attempts the screenwriter made at provoking emotion and laughter. The action was good, and I especially like the sequence when decorations in a hotel lobby are seen shattering. The editing was nice and clean, too, which can be difficult in action movies (such as the horrendous editing of Taken 2: yikes!). In short, the screenplay basically tore down the whole movie with it, but Gangster Squad was not a total failure. Worth $10.50? Eh, I think so.