Gangster Squad (2013)

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General		Extras
Category	Crime Drama	Trailer-Roadshow Trailers (6:12) Featurette-Tough Guys With Style (4:43)
Rating
Year Of Production	2013
Running Time	108:16
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (57:31)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Ruben Fleischer
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Josh Brolin Ryan Gosling Sean Penn Emma Stone Nick Nolte Anthony Mackie Mireille Enos Giovanni Ribisi Michael Peña Robert Patrick Sullivan Stapleton Holt McCallany Jon Polito
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$29.95	Music	Steve Jablonsky

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Unknown	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.40:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Gangster Squad’s theatrical release was originally set for September, 2012. That was until the massacre at an Aurora, Colorado theatre's midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises, a showing which included Gangster Squad’s trailer. The trailer featured a scene of a shooting at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, but was withdrawn from distribution. The release of Gangster Squad was postponed to allow time for re-editing and reshoots. The film was released four months later, and the timing couldn't have hurt this film's chances at the box-office more than it did. The fact is that films released in September are the type of movies that the major studios back for receiving critical accolades and awards. Films released in January, on the other hand, are practically dead-in-the-water in terms of major box-office potential or critical recognition.

     It's disappointing indeed that Warner Bros. green-lit this to ultimately see it debut in January. It's a shame because we have a stellar A-list cast and some interesting historical subject matter.

     The basic premise of the film, taken from its website, is that in Los Angeles in 1949 Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) runs the show, 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 he has under his thumb. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop…except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders brought together by LAPD's Chief Bill Parker (Nick Nolte), who shares the distaste for Cohen and gives Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) his blessing to follow his heart and bring the kingpin down.

     O'Mara assembles a secret undercover unit whose name gives the film its title. His pregnant (and tolerant) wife (Mireille Enos) helps him pick a handful of trustworthy officers. They include an African-American (Anthony Mackie) who specialises in chasing down drug dealers, a sharpshooter (Robert Patrick - originally Bryan Cranston until he had to drop out due to filming Argo) whose infamy is starting to be recorded in comic print, his Hispanic protégé (Michael Peña,), and an intelligent, eavesdropping wire-tapper and family man (Giovanni Ribisi,). Rounding out the squad is the suave, young Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who is secretly dating Grace Faraday (Emma Stone), Cohen's new etiquette coach and girlfriend.

     Under the direction of Ruben Fleischer, Gangster Squad is a stylish 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. The film stars Oscar nominees Josh Brolin (Milk, True Grit) and Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson, Drive), and Academy Award winner Sean Penn (Milk, Mystic River) as Mickey Cohen. The film also stars Oscar nominee Nick Nolte (Warrior, Affliction), Emma Stone, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Peña, Robert Patrick and Mireille Enos.

     The screenplay was written by Will Beall, based on the book Gangster Squad by Paul Lieberman. The film is produced by Dan Lin, Kevin McCormick and Michael Tadross. The executive producers are Ruben Fleischer, Paul Lieberman and Bruce Berman. Fleischer was joined behind the scenes by his regular collaborators, production designer Maher Ahmad and editor Alan Baumgarten, as well as editor James Herbert, Academy Award-winning director of photography Dion Beebe (Memoirs of a Geisha) and Oscar-nominated costume designer Mary Zophres (True Grit). The film’s composer is Steve Jablonsky.

     Gangster Squad manages to capture the look and feel of 1940s Los Angeles, from the production detail to the desaturised, dark film-noir look of the film. Some aspects of the film were compelling, such as O'Mara's relationship with his wife and his duty to the public, whilst other aspects were not, such as Wooters' fling with Cohen's girlfriend. The problem here is Will Beall's script. With more emphasis on style and cliché, you get the atypical gangster-type dialogue that's supposed to be fast and witty, almost comic. Then include a chase, a shootout and some good-old fashioned cringe worthy violence and you have the makings of a gangster film; right?

     Wrong! Gangster Squad suffers from being too familiar and ordinary. As a comparison, whereas John Hillcoat's Lawless, was more violent and brutal, it's much more convincing as a period gangster film which aims to be distinctive. Gangster Squad tries to be LA Confidential, only in more of a comical way.

     Ruben Fleischer's debut, Zombieland benefitted from its screenplay and originality, a zombie horror-comedy which films like Warm Bodies can be thankful for. Gangster Squad suffers from including too many under-developed characters, poorly-written dialogue and common procedural motifs (raids, wire-tapping etc.).

     Gangster Squad struggled at the box office, grossing $US102 million dollars against its $US100 million budget.

Video

     Gangster Squad is dark, high in contrast and saturised to match its gangster genre and, no doubt, as an homage to 1940s film noir.

     The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, 16x9 enhanced.

     The image transfer is sharp and focussed, especially in close-ups. Overall, there is good detail here for DVD. The average bitrate is 6.56 m/b per sec, which is reasonable.

     The colours were quite sedate and muted in this transfer, again, presumably by design to match the time period of the film.

     There are no major film artefacts evident.

     Subtitles are available in English for the hard of hearing.

     RSDL change occurs at 57:31, during a scene transition, so it is not noticeable.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The main audio track is very active, impressively mixed and filled with surround activity.

     There are two audio tracks. The main one is in English, while the second audio option is an English Descriptive Audio track. Surprisingly, both are encoded in Dolby Digital 5.1 at 384 kbps each. Most commonly, Descriptive Audio tracks are Dolby Digital 2.0 encoded, no higher than 224 kbps. This is a real treat for fans who are hard of hearing, as the surround sound mix can be better appreciated.

     Dialogue is well-balanced and clear.

     Steve Jablonsky's music score is bright, full and well-tempered and varied in tempo and dynamics.

     The Surround Channel mix is superb, with good environmental ambient sounds in the rears, as well as lots of gunfire rattling!

     The subwoofer ably supports gunfire, explosions and the themes that resonate in Steve Jablonsky's score.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Roadshow Trailers (6:12)

     The DVD begins with three Roadshow trailers for Movie 43,Side Effects and The Last Stand. These trailers can be fast-forwarded to the main menu.

Tough Guys With Style (4:43)

     This EPK-type featurette includes interviews with Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Ruben Fleischer, Nick Nolte and Anthony Mackie discussing the setting of the film (i.e. late 1940s/early 1950s Los Angeles). Costume designer Mary Zophres talks about creating 1940s costumes. This short featurette is over before it begins; there is nothing of substance here, unfortunately!

    The Region 1 United States and Region 2 United Kingdom releases are identical to the Region 4 Australian DVD release.

     Gangster Squad is a mediocre film which fails to standout in a genre that's littered with classics such as The Godfather, Scarface, Once Upon a Time in America, The Untouchables, Goodfellas and LA Confidential. Perhaps it was filmed with a slightly comic overtone, however in this sense it's no Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or Snatch either. Technically speaking, the visuals and audio are superb, it's just a shame that the screenplay couldn't match it.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall