Gangster Squad (2013)

Los Angeles, 1949: A secret crew of police officers led by two determined sergeants work together in an effort to take down the ruthless mob king Mickey Cohen who runs the city.

Director:

Ruben Fleischer

Writers:

Will Beall, Paul Lieberman (book)

Stars:

Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Penn	...	Mickey Cohen
Holt McCallany	...	Karl Lockwood
Wade Williams	...	Rourke
James Landry Hébert	...	Mitch Racine (as James Hébert)
Ambyr Childers	...	Milk Skinned Blonde
Josh Brolin	...	Sgt. John O'Mara
Mick Betancourt	...	Detective Sgt. Will Hendricks
Mac Brandt	...	Bruiser
Brandon Molale	...	Jimmy 'Bockscar' Knox
Michael Papajohn	...	Mike 'The Flea'
Jeff Wolfe	...	Giovanni Vacarezza
Anthony Molinari	...	Lorenzo Molinari
Austin Highsmith	...	Patty
Ryan Gosling	...	Sgt. Jerry Wooters
Neil Koppel	...	Max Solomon

Storyline

It's 1949 Los Angeles, and gangster Mickey Cohen has moved in, with the intention of controlling all criminal activity in the city. He has bought local judges and police, and no one is willing to cross him or testify against him. Everyone except Seargant John O'Mara, a former World War II soldier, whose goal is to settle with his family in a peaceful Los Angeles. Police Chief William Parker decides to form a special unit whose mission is to take down Cohen, and chooses O'Mara to lead the unit. O'Mara chooses 4 cops and asks another cop and vet, Jerry Wooters to join him but Wooters is not interested. But when he witnesses the murder of a young boy by Cohen's people, he joins them, and they decide to take apart Cohen's organization. Cohen wonders if a rival is going after him, but eventually he realizes it's the cops.

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Plot Keywords:

judge | murder | tommy gun | drill in the head | two word title | 

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Taglines:

No names. No badges. No mercy.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Warner Bros. [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 January 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fuerza antigángster

Filming Locations:

Bellflower, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$17,070,347 (USA) (11 January 2013)

Gross:

$45,996,718 (USA) (29 March 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Langley Park Productions, Lin Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Garden of Allah Hotel and Villas existed in real life. It was located at 8152 Sunset Boulevard.

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Goofs

When Grace Faraday is introduced in the restaurant, the napkin stuffed down Mickey Cohen's shirt disappears and reappears between shots.

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Quotes

Grace Faraday: He'll kill you if he finds out!
Sgt. Jerry Wooters: Who?
Grace Faraday: Mickey!
Sgt. Jerry Wooters: Mickey Mouse?

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Connections

Featured in The Big Review: Episode #1.13 (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Jelly Wiggle Boogie"
Written by Dan Higgins
Performed by The Gangster Squad Movie Band

User Reviews

No names. No badges. No mercy.

Glossy, slick, bloody, violent, dumb, crowd-pleasing, and undeniably entertaining. Filled with every gangster genre cliché rolled into one, GANGSTER SQUAD ain't high art, nor is it aiming to be. It seemed as if director Fleischer was trying to tell this story in the most fun possible way, and he succeeds with flying colors. The film is at its best when its loud and dumb but falters when it tries to be anything more than that.

The cast seems like they're having fun, especially Sean Penn who has a field day with his role as the villain Mickey Cohen. The lines he's given are pure gold. Josh Brolin does a great job as the lead and Ryan Gosling is charming and charismatic as usual. However, Emma Stone is underused with a thankless role, but it's nice that she's in the film anyway. Overall, GANGSTER SQUAD is fun entertainment. No judgments, little pretense.