Gangster Squad Reviews

Those looking for the depth and complexity of the best of the genre are in the wrong place, but take Gangster Squad for what it is and it's not a bad way to spend an evening.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10

Do not try to fight off the running "this is the City of Angels" commentary; you will lose. Here, the good guys win, the bad guys earn their comeuppance, the dames look pretty and the dopey dialogue shoves a grapefruit in your face and shuts you up.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

The end result is a passable - just barely - thriller that benefits substantially from the efforts of its star-heavy cast...

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4

Will it win any awards for 2013? Well, no. But 'Gangster Squad,' a shoot-'em-up nod to pulp thrillers, will provide solid entertainment for fans of crime dramas.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

Brash, loud & risibly anachronistic, Gangster Squad is flashier than a mobster's suit, but if you're not too fussy about finesse then this stylised crime film is a hugely entertaining cops 'n crooks romp through a cartoon-like version of 1940s LA history.

Full Review

High entertainment this is not, but as a period-driven action picture loosely based on a tumultuous time in Los Angeles' history, it's a strangely entertaining and bonkers experience.

Full Review | Original Score: B-

Overly violent portrayal of LA crime in the 1940's, but the story, acting and look of the film make it good entertainment.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10

Everything you'd want from a good gangster movie is delivered here...Think The Untouchables, only without the artistic pretense.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

( ... ) a more watchable thriller than Michael Mann's Public Enemies (2009), with lots of Tommy guns blazing in the old fashioned way.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

Lovingly pulpy yet honest and sincere about its intent, there is plenty in Gangster Squad for fans of the gangster genre to enjoy.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5

... a maniacally arch fusion of 'Dick Tracy' and, yes, the classic buddy Western 'Magnificent Seven' ... Penn froths at the mouth so much he disappears beneath a mask of spittle.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5

Sean Penn's performance alone makes the film worth seeing.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

Viewers complaining about the cartoonish portrayal and wanting Curtis Hanson's Oscar winner again need to consider the source, and remember that - Paul Muni, anyone? - the former rules.

Full Review | Original Score: 7.5/10

Mildly enjoyable... sadly forgettable.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

Sean Penn's performance as Mickey Cohen will disturb you.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

A fun breezy drama that's fun to watch but will easily be forgotten in six months.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

A pulpy action throwback that effortlessly achieves its goal to entertain thanks to a top-shelf cast, dazzling direction, and a fast-paced screenplay chock-full of snappy 1940s-style patter.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

A crowd-pleasing tale of cops and mobsters but bungled characterization and underwhelming style-over-substance prevents Gangster Squad from being a crime genre classic.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

It might sound like a stretch, imagining Penn playing that intense, indiosyncratic a villain. But the lauded, veteran actor pulls a left hook, then a right, and after a wild bodyshot at the tail end of the film, you see the true mania behind his eyes.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

Gangster Squad" is a highly stylized, pulp-fiction period piece based on true events.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5