“A chronicle of the LAPD’s fight to keep East Coast Mafia types out of Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s. ” (IMDb)

Starring: Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone, Sean Penn (full cast)
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Release date: September 7, 2012

A lot of people are already comparing Gangster Squad (based off of it’s first trailer) to ‘The Departed‘ for plot lines and ‘L.A. Noire‘ for neo noir style, but not me. It reminds me a lot of ‘Public Enemies‘ (trailer) — the 2009 biographical-crime era film which in my opinion was wrongfully tagged as an action-thriller when it was certainly more of a crime-drama. So, I expect Gangster Squad to be quite the same despite the glorified & violent trailer. I’m expecting it to be a  film with drawn out action and full-drama with a lot of crime and gangster talk in between. And that’s not a negative expectation, I prefer it that way and I’m hopeful that a lot of crime era film goers will too.

The film definitely has a star-studded and dynamic cast. Emma Stone as the not-so-newcomer is getting a lot of attention as she is trying another new role; from an array of comedies, romantic comedies and a drama (‘The Help‘) now into action (‘The Amazing Spiderman‘) and serious crime-drama with Gangster Squad. A lot of eyes are also on Ryan Gosling as he is expected to pull off yet another great performance further leaving the impression of him as the next great actor of our generation. Heavy weights like Josh Brolin and Nick Nolte will undoubtedly hold their own in the film. Sean Penn as the co-headliner, next to Gosling, will either make or break the film with his portrayal of mob boss Mickey Cohen (ie. Denzel Washington as Frank Lucas in ‘American Gangster‘). As the trailer and the director’s previous work (‘Zombieland‘) suggests, we can expect a visually engaging film.

“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 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 (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), 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.” (WarnerBrosPictures)

Source: gangstersquadmovie.com