Gangster Squad is dark, crazy violent, occasionally hilarious, and very good. Surprisingly so, on all fronts…it’s probably helpful to know going in that it’s directed by Zombieland’s Ruben Fleischer (i didn’t.) This isn’t quite as good as Zombieland (that Bill Murray extended cameo is a really unfair advantage), but if you had any love for that film’s tounge-in-cheek brutality, or Team Bondi’s ingenious L.A. Noir, i suspect you’ll find a lot to like here. And if you didn’t, well Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are both pretty, and fun to look at.
Als0 suspect you’ll be seeing political pressure brought to bear to tone down films like this, sooner than later. If you like your entertainment on the anarchic side, suggest you might want to consider supporting the worthy releases over the next couple months, to reassure the studios that there is a demand, and that the overwhelming majority can process this kind of content, without any desire to emulate/replicate irl.
On a lighter note, kind of amazing that January is traditionally considered a toxic dumping ground for film, yet there are so many promising ones this year: loved last week’s Texas Chainsaw 3D, really liked Gangster Squad, and still have stuff like MaMa and Parker (which i’m fucking dying to see) to come.
5 Responses to “Quick thoughts on Gangster Squad…a fun little excercise in ultraviolence”
Ahhh, Emma Stone.
Wouldn’t we all love to see her in cosplay…
Sad that it wasn’t Emma dancing in lingerie in the trailer. Spoilers.
Loved this movie, quite excellent.
This movie lost me at “Sean Penn.”
Yeah, but Sean Penn’s fine when he’s not in self-righteous mode (also, since he’s the bad guy I imagine the tradition of the bad guy getting the stuffing beaten out of him is still in effect here). It’s on my ‘to watch’ list, anyway.
I think studios realized that people still go to the movies in January, so they figure if they spread the big movies out evenly money should be made. Which works out good for me, since my birthday is this month.
Although every time I think of Sean Penn, I remember that his brother is dead, and I liked him way more as an actor. Rest with the angels, Chris Penn, your roles in Best of the Best and Reservoir Dogs will not be forgotten.