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Gangster Squad
A (INDIA)
2013
MOVIE IS
horrible
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serious
enjoyable
ridiculously
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46 %
32 %
Rotten
$ 105 Million
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Gangster Squad
Positive Reviews
65
Negative reviews
37
Average Rating
2.8
/5
horrible
unique
serious
enjoyable
ridiculously
All
Positive
Negative
1.8
Gangster Squad aims for the pop operatic intensity of The Untouchables, but ends up feeling like a savage, simple minded comic strip.
Av Club
1.5
This isnt a musical, its not a spaghetti western, its certainly not a biographical drama.
Den Of Geek
3.0
Fleischer brings nothing new to the table and instead beats the genre cliches to death on film, I mean digital.
We Got This Covered
1.3
Gangster Squad is never bad, and only rarely is it uninvolving, but the slight entertainment it provides comes coupled with a fair amount of tedium.
We Got This Covered
2.5
What is notable about Gangster Squad is its uncomfortable mingling of brutal and fun elements; its like a strange mutant offspring of The Untouchables ..
Austin Chronicle
2.0
Its 1949, and the City of Angels is under siege.Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn, made up like a Dick Tracy villain) runs the town ruthlessly; just ask the guy ..
Time Out
3.5
Director Ruben Fleischer keeps the tone fairly light, leavening the sometimes brutal violence and occasional drama with a steady supply of snappy come ..
Screen Daily
1.5
Unfortunately, a thin plot and even thinner characters make Gangster Squad as intense as a drive by shooting and just as fleeting.
Collider
1.5
For the most part all the characters are one dimensional at best (for instance, Anthony Mackies character is defined by these facts: 1) Hes a cop, 2) ..
Collider
2.5
Despite its lack of offerings, the film does ironically provide an important lesson in filmmaking: ambition and ineptitude make a horrendous combinati ..
Paste Magazine
2.5
It offers the marginal pleasure of an all star cast slumming their way through a thicket of routine plotting, almost laughable dialogue and the consta ..
Rogerebert
2.0
The movies already trying too hard, but you couldnt accuse Penn of this as the notorious Thirties crime boss Mickey Cohen, his hammy contempt for fall ..
Telegraph
2.0
But Gangster Squad is bloody, sloppy and far dumber than it looks, a Hollywood spectacle of slo mo bullets and explosions perfectly calibrated to be s ..
Cinema Blend
3.0
Today, we note merely that this movie is at its worst when it relies, lazily, on an abundance of bloodshed.
Ny Daily News
2.5
But by reducing the Mickey Cohen saga to a super generic cops and robbers story, it becomes tacky, and boring.
JoBlo
3.0
The combination lands Gangster Squad in an awkward grey area: a number of charming performances and memorable one liners make the film engaging, but p ..
Screen Rant
2.5
Gangster Squad is to the great tradition of the Scarface genre what plastic is to cutlery tiny, imitative, disposable.
The Globe And Mail
3.1
But Gangster Squads violence has a graphic, contemporary feel thats at odds with the vintage crime pics the film wants to celebrate.
Philly
3.5
Gangster Squad engages and entertains you with its occasional humour, sleek slow motion action sequences and stylized gun violence but somewhere falls ..
3.8
Hes fine in a trenchcoat and fedora.But somebody get that man a horse.
Rogers Movie Nation
1.8
10 1 4 / 10 Gangster Squad shoots itself in the foot right out of the gate by suggesting the movie is somehow rooted in fact.
Blu Ray
2.5
Fleischer and screenwriter Will Beall adapted a nonfiction book by Paul Lieberman, turning it into a cartoon.
Chicago Reader
2.5
are caricatures with only as much personality as their fedoras and weapons allow.
Mark Reviews Movies
1.0
While next to nothing in this movie actually happened, I could forgive a little artistic license when it comes to a gangster pic.What I cant forgive i ..
News Review
1.3
Haunting resonance instead of digital flash; moral ambiguity instead of down market escapism.
Rolling Stone
2.5
Still, if you dont mind a little blood spattering your glossy post war reveries, Gangster Squad never lets up on its momentum, often injecting surpris ..
The Wrap
3.0
Indeed, its main problem is that it cant quite decide whether it wants to be a serious police versus gangsters drama or surrender to its pulpier impul ..
View London
3.1
A gorgeous cast and some hard hitting action make this period flick a mostly enjoyable trip to Hollywoodland.
News Day
2.5
Director Ruben Fleischer and screenwriter Will Beall cant decide whether to make a spoof or a serious drama, so they wrongheadedly attempt both.
Cs Monitor
3.5
Instead, he puts the metal down and just blasts through to the finish, trusting in speed, a solid cast, and the smartly polished period design to make ..
Film Journal
2.5
Bits and pieces here and there entertain. But it never really comes together in a satisfying way, and given the talent involved, that adds up to a big ..
Az Central
1.9
Despite a cast of gifted actors, lush 1940s production design and suave costumes, its bereft of inspiration, plowing familiar terrain past the point o ..
Star Tribune
2.5
With so many good ingredients, its too bad the Fleishers direction is so impersonal and barely functional.
Emanuellevy
4.0
It began with Barry Levinsons Bugsy, set in this new criminal milieu, and Lee Tamahoris Mulholland Falls, which centred on the ruthless cops hired to ..
Guardian
3.0
For all the guns and gore, its as breezy and uncritical as a tale from the True Detective magazine that the cops cant help reading.
Guardian
2.5
Yet beneath the luster of its costumes and set design, Gangster Squad is all guns blazing recklessness and tinny bloody set pieces.Its like L.A. Confi ..
Ew
1.0
Theres no way Fleischers film can stand beside films like LA Confidential, as it fails to deliver on drama, substance, and entertainment value.
Cinema Crazed
3.5
What message do I discern beneath the snazzy fedoras, Italianate villas and Latin jazz supper club numbers
Salon
3.0
Gangster Squad Rob Carnevale 9 January 2013 The Ryan Gosling starring LA noir has great performances but a nasty violent streak As stylish as Ruben Fl ..
Flim List
3.0
But while its not lacking in visual razzle dazzle or blood, story wise it rarely manages to shock or excite.
Empire
2.0
Outbreaks of emotion get swung about like loose punches in a bar brawl gung ho yet completely missing the target.
Eye For Film
3.5
Despite the flaws and the occasional corn, this is still one of the most exhilarating and entertaining action films in recent memory.
Observer
3.0
But as 1997s similarly themed L.A. CONFIDENTIAL proved, this kind of movie can also be complex, and thats whats missing in Gangster Squad, which is en ..
Common Sense Media
3.0
You get what you get: two hours of gleaming period pleasure and an undemanding narrative, a competently executed, meatloaf and mashed potatoes mobster ..
Movies
2.5
That would be stupid, wouldnt it.And yet that is precisely what the cops in Gangster Squad keep doing, so they must be stupid, and the filmmakers must ..
Sf Gate
2.5
All coverage within bostonherald.com from the last 14 days remains free of charge.
Boston Herald
1.3
This quote represents the moral and professional duplicity inherent to the problematic ideology expressed by this mindless exercise in gratuitous icon ..
Slant Magazine
3.0
The sequences are exciting and well staged, however, enhanced by a nice rapport between the cast and some good comic moments.
Express
2.5
In half.Maybe it happened in real life, and maybe it didnt, but launching your gangster picture on such a ridiculous note of bloody excess is certainl ..
Chicago Tribune
3.0
Part of what makes the film so enjoyable is that it doesnt take itself too seriously.
Bullz-Eye
2.5
The movies too cartoony, but some of its cast show what might have been.
Reeling Reviews
4.5
Its half preposterous nonsense that cannot possibly be entirely true even as it purports to be, and half knowing nod to the fact that (sometimes) prep ..
Flickfilosopher
5.0
Its watchable because of the colorful recreation of L.A. in 1949 (thanks to cinematographer Dion Beebe and production designer Mather Ahmad) and its a ..
Blogs Indie Wire
2.0
The real story of the LAPDs war against Mickey Cohen might make for an interesting crime drama, but Gangster Squad offers up a slick, empty bloodbath ..
Las Vegas Weekly
3.0
8 things to watch out for this week Feature Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 multiplayer beta debuts on PS4, Monster Hunter World hits PC and Better Call Sau ..
Total Film
3.1
Steeped in blood, gore, and violence, Gangster Squad delivers what fans of the gangster genre expect from a movie of this sort.
ReelViews
2.5
PHOTOS: Marketing Violence: Hollywoods Posters For Early 2013 Movies But there is incident and plenty of it, all portrayed in a brutal modern fashion ..
Hollywood Reporter
2.0
Director Ruben Fleischer concentrates largely on its action set pieces.
Standard
3.0
While this movie implies a completely different ending, in point of fact Cohen was finally sentenced to jail for tax evasion.So if youre just going fo ..
Tony Medley
3.5
As an old fashioned gangster picture tempered with noir overtones Gangster Squad is feast for the eyes.
Coles Mithey
2.0
Penn breathes malice into Mickeys every move, making a smile out of a sneer that is particularly malevolent.
Los Angeles Times
3.5
Although it glories in its violent elements, the movie seems pitched at a teenage sensibility that makes such savagery incongruous.
Variety
1.9
The sheer bulk of talent involved (top tier technicians and designers included) turns out to be a case of water, water everywhere, and not a drop to d ..
Groucho Reviews
3.5
But the more seriously Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer takes the material, the more vapid it comes off.
Cnn
3.1
The end result is a passable just barely thriller that benefits substantially from the efforts of its star heavy cast, which is a shame, undoubtedly, ..
Reel Film
2.0
A List Cast Offensive levels of violence aside, Gangster Squad represents a significantly wasted opportunity, mostly because Fleischer has assembled a ..
Movie Habit
2.5
Article Continued Below Better they should be looking for the heinous computer boffins who turned Gangster Squad from film noir homage into a lurid ca ..
The Star
2.2
As it is, very few will remember it in a few months, which is probably just fine with the folks who made it.
Oregon Live
4.0
Gripping, ballsy, edge of seat cinema, Gangster Squad is a reminder not only of the Mob violence of the era, but one in which honour and pride can tri ..
Urban Cine File
3.8
How People With Disabilities Are Challenging the Hollywood Pipeline At a networking event designed to provide resources and tools for the creative com ..
Movies Tv Guide
3.0
Treat this as a cartoonish action film that owes as much to the western as to the gangster movie, and just go along for the ride.
Maki At The Movies
3.5
I mean, in the male dominant ambience of this throwback thriller, this hot as a pistol babe shines a light thats dazzling.
Varia Gate
4.0
Without a fine cast of actors this would just be a high gloss caper.
Digital Spy
2.5
But Fleischer and the credited screenwriter, Will Beall, play very fast and loose with the facts.
New York Post
3.0
Just watching Penn makes this film worth seeing.With a slightly disfigured face, hes fiery and scary and spends the movie spitting out one liners and ..
Nz Herald
1.9
Its flair is all posturing, its hints of style nothing but hollow tricks.
Red Eye Chicago
3.2
Although it embraces all of the gangster movie cliches, it lacks the richness and depth of the better films in the genre.
Cleve Land
2.5
Drop the attractive drapery in Gangster Squad, unfortunately, and what is left is a synthetic crime tale done in by rampant familiarity and nothing go ..
Dustin Put Man
3.5
Instead, the film is all shiny surfaces, with flashy production design, too immaculate costumes and haircuts, and a plot that reduces a complex situat ..
Contact Music
2.5
This movie still has lots of bang but that gets tiresome a lot faster than the filmmakers apparently think.
Hollywood And Fine
2.0
Violence is something Gangster Squad is not in short supply of and it does get quite gruesome.
Matts Movie Reviews
2.0
Its a reimagining of Elliot Ness in the era of The Dark Knight, turning the classic crimefighter into a superhero.
Hollywood Chicago
2.0
His latest, mob movie Gangster Squad, is even more wasteful, crammed with lots of impressive visuals and absolutely nothing else.
Cinemix Tape
3.5
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 its not a bad w ..
ComingSoon
3.5
Gangster Squad is not a great movie it is not a Chinatown, or an L.A. Confidential, or even, if were being completely honest about it, an Untouchables ..
Flavor Wire
4.0
Its basically the movie adaptation of the trashy comic book adaptation of The Untouchables.
The Shiz Nit
2.5
For the record, the intermittently clever script is by TV writer Will Beall.
Bitly
2.0
This is sloppy filmmaking, and we dont like failure in this outfit.
Scots Man
3.0
Thankfully, youll have forgotten the entire movie before youve even left the cinema.
Metro
2.5
But this is only one of the movies problems.(Another is that director Ruben Fleischer, who previously gave us the wonderful Zombieland, might be more ..
reason
2.0
The most imaginative this gets is a climactic shoot out on a staircase, which seeks solely to remind us of The Untouchables.Wow, what a deep cut.
Streaming Quickflix
4.0
This unique enterprise, which began as a documentary experiment almost a half century ago, has grown into an inspiring testimonial to the unpredictabi ..
Wsj
2.5
Gosling gets the best lines, but in Will Bealls screenplay adapted from Paul Liebermans book and directed with a few nice touches by TV moveover Ruben ..
East Bay Express
2.5
There is a certain level of shoot em up entertainment value to the movie, but overall, its a pretty forgettable ride.
Fat Guys At The Movies
2.5
Visually, its a delight to behold, with elaborate set pieces, sumptuous period costumes, and grand architecture giving it a glamorous sheen; however, ..
Concrete Play Ground
3.2
High entertainment this is not, but as a period driven action picture loosely based on a tumultuous time in Los Angeles history, its a strangely enter ..
From The Balcony
3.8
The film is surprisingly stylized with lots of smoky gunfire and slow motion explosions.It cant help but look ultra modern with all that fancy camera ..
Denver Post
3.0
What stands out is the great ensemble team director Rueben Fleisher assembled to pull it off.
Review Express
3.0
Will Bealls screenplay has plenty of spark, and there are some intelligent, witty moments, but the narrative boils down to a series of action scenes f ..
Fan The Fire Magazine
3.0
Its witty, has a handsome cast and plenty of zippy action but its not one you will still be thinking of in ten years time.
Daily Star
1.8
Its easy to say the role could have gone to someone as seductive as Christina Hendricks, but you probably want something better for Hendricks as well.
Reel Talk Online
2.0
It is a sad departure from the incredible run of award worthy performances of the last few years (This Must Be the Place and Milk).
Graffiti With Punctuation
4.0
Plus the late 40s is a rich era in the citys history, ripe for a Chinatown like examination of corruption and street bravery.Yet director Ruben Fleisc ..
Honey Cutts Hollywood
2.2
Do whatever it takes to get Cohen to leave without actually killing Cohen himself.
Movie Chambers
4.0
It might not be much easier to buy than a 1950s True Detective comic, but this is as slick and explosive as a barrel of high octane hair oil.
Sky
2.5
Its a derivative cartoon thats oddly entertaining, although it seems to want credit for regurgitating every gangster movie cliche.
Miami
3.5
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Richard Roeper
2.8
Although entertaining and watchable, Gangster Squad is a silly mess that features overacting, underwritten dialogue, and a movie that is all over the ..
Schmoes Know
1.9
But the films frothy, playful tone sours when it mingles with so much needless gunplay and enthusiastic bloodshed, leaving you wondering if Hollywood ..
Ut Sandiego
3.0
If there is one thing you cant deny Gangster Squad, is that its a good, enjoyable cinematic experience, as a film that doesnt take itself too seriousl ..
Hey U Guys
2.6
There is definitely fun to be hard here even if its fun youve had previously.
Flixist
3.5
Lovingly pulpy yet honest and sincere about its intent, there is plenty in Gangster Squad for fans of the gangster genre to enjoy.
Cinema Autopsy
3.0
That cast is the best thing about this otherwise disappointing film, which aspires and desires to be on the level of its obvious predecessors, but nev ..
Standard Net Au
3.5
Its the grim n gritty version of Dick Tracy.And if you approach it like that, youll enjoy the movie just fine.
Bad Ass Digest
4.0
Some of the dialogue is razor sharp, some less so and the look of the film is too digital at times.
Birmingham Mail
1.0
Chastain manages the seemingly impossible feat of looking spent and dejected but still photogenic.
Kc Active
2.5
The screenplay lacks wit or emotional nuance.And, although the fine actors do what they can, there isnt a single character in the film whose death wou ..
Twin Cities
3.5
But La Pirogue is much better than this itemization might suggest.
The Nation
1.5
Homage is all well and good, but when minor details are mirrored it becomes too much to bear.
Screen Space(Squarespace)
2.5
Even with the wealth of great talent, the hyper stylized Gangster Squad suffers from cheap effects and a weak script and is ultimately more video game ..
Fox News
1.5
None of it is remotely new or inventive, and much appears lifted from more accomplished exercises in the genre.
7 Dvt
2.5
An unconvincing tale and cartoonish contrivances make for a second rate pulpy thriller.
Rss Feeds Usa Today
3.5
And just for fun, if youve already seen Gangster Squad, look up Mickey Cohen on Wikipedia.
Topless Robot
3.8
The narrative aims to unspool like Tony Camontes gun tearing away days on the calendar, if more dizzying than thrilling.
Film International
3.5
It all adds up to a movie that is moderately fun to watch, a fine date night flick if your date doesnt mind a blood squirt here or there.
Patheos
2.0
...it would seem so much was spent on waistcoats that no one could afford to go to Officeworks, as Gangster Squads script the foundation of every film ..
The Crat
5.0
A high body count showdown featuring all the staples of the genre, from flashy Zoot suits to Tommy guns to street smart dialogue mixing slang and savo ..
Aalbc It
3.0
They may have a future; they may even have talent.But their timing is terrible.
Bloom Berg
1.5
Its too jokey for the violent, often brutal world the characters inhabit.
Jeffreyklyles Word Press
2.5
Its not that Gangster Squad is horrible and you shouldnt see it, its just that youll enjoy it a lot more if you know in advance that its going to be p ..
Filmdrunk Uproxx
2.0
Its 1949, and the City of Angels is under siege.Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn, made up like a Dick Tracy villain) runs the town ruthlessly; just ask the guy ..
Time Out Chicago
3.0
The result is unclear, often silly, and punctuated with violence that feels unmotivated thats what happens when we cant tell what the films about in p ..
Movies With Butter
2.5
Its the screenplay that brings down this action flick.And what a shame that is.
East Bay Times
4.4
Judged by modern standards, Gangster Squad is a pretty terrible movie.
Because I Told You So
3.5
The flicks solid entertainment as long as youre willing to go with the (blood) flow.
Staci Wilson Live Journal
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Gangster Squad