GANGSTER SQUAD... AND WHY CRITCS AREN'T FUN AT PARTIES
âWatching too many movies... bulletproof this... if this is your first time hearing this, youâre about to experience someone so cold!â The words of Jay Zâs âOh My Godâ featured extensively in the marketing campaign of Warner Bros. new film, Gangster Squad almost seem to be forewarning the onslaught of cynical critics unfairly kicking this delightful movie in the gut. With a 33% fresh rate on Rotten Tomatoes, the average moviegoer might assume that the film must be god-awful.That is until, you see that 73% of the audience ratings favor the film. What could cause such a huge discrepancy?
The answer is simple and the predecessor to almost all forms of resentment... misplaced expectations.
 âThe movie claims to be âbased on a true storyâ but turns out to be as authentic as The Flinstones in Viva Rock Vegas.â -Matt BrunsonÂ
Because âInspired By True Eventsâ is the same as a direct adaptation?
âItâs all surface level a backdrop for a big, dumb action movie that has more in common with âThe Expendablesâ than âL.A. Confidential.â -Greg Maki
And this is where my frustration as a moviegoer begins. I too, adore L.A. Confidential. Along with Chinatown, it is the holy grail of L.A. based crime dramas. Itâs gritty, nuanced and authentic portrayal of Los Angeles, coupled with itâs tinges of pulp sentimentality make many feel warm inside. There is no movie in recent memory since Curtis Hansonâs classic that has ever even threatened to kick it off of itâs throne. But for some strange reason, the critics seem to feel justified in kicking the crap out of Ruben Fleischerâs popcorn caper because it has no Oscar dreams. Or maybe they hate it because it doesn't force us to think of the political and sociological landscape of 1940âs L.A (for goodness sake... itâs called GANGSTER SQUAD. The tone is already set up in the title.)
Thatâs like keying a Corvette because itâs not a Lamborghini. Thatâs like burning down an In-N-Out because itâs not a five star restaurant. What in the world did you expect, people? Â Â
Iâve embedded the trailer here...
Watch it. Maybe three times. Maybe four times. Heck... maybe just spend the whole day with some graph paper and pie charts and analyze the life out of it, and then please come back and explain to me, how, on Godâs green earth, anybody thought that this was going to be like L.A. Confidential? Hereâs the trailer for that film.
How did anyone assume that Gangster Squad even had the aspirations of being a serious drama, or even the intentions of portraying itself as a thinking manâs movie? Did the critics just say âI really wish they were making L.A. Confidentialâ or âI really wish Brian De Palma made this movieâ and then proceed to eviscerate the film because of flawed wishful thinking? Letâs also look at director Ruben Fleischerâs filmography. Zombieland (great movie), 30 Minutes Or Less, and this film. Please, intelligently express to me what you were expecting. And that is NOT a knock on Mr. Fleischer, as I do enjoy his film-making style.
"Anyone with knowledge of L.A. history will find the story so wildly inaccurate as to be almost entertainingâ- Colin Covert
 You guys must be fun at parties... (pic via Buzzfeed)
Funny... I thought being entertaining was the whole point. âInspired by a true story..." not âbased on a true story.â That sort of gives you freedom to do whatever the heck you want.
When I saw the Gangster Squad trailer... I donât know, maybe my brain is getting dull, but it felt like a modern day story in the vein of something like this...
âGangster Squadâ is a highly stylized, pulp-fiction period piece based on true events... Itâs an admittedly violent but nearly comic-book style telling of some real-life heroes, that stood up to a man that was pure evil.â Those are the words of Richard Roeper who gave the film a B+ review. At least some of these critics get it.
Gangster Squad is unashamed and confident in its homage to run of the mill, pulpy, bullet riddled, posturing gangland entertainment. It markets itself as a connect the dots narrative that is more interested in the flashiness of it all. And by that token, it shines. Every character is colorful enough to pop. They may not have the greatest of depth, but they keep my eyes on the screen and they kept everyoneâs butts in the seats. Sean Pennâs portrayal of Mickey Cohen is vicious enough for you to lust after the end of his reign. The motivations of the Characters are pure enough for you to keep rooting for their success, and the charisma factor is just too high not to smile. In the words of Javert, err... Maximus from Gladiator... âAre you not entertained?!â
Is it violent? Yes. Excessively so? Yes. Itâs a tall tale set in the Wild West, nothing more and nothing less. It favors simple myth over history with brash confidence and no apologies. The production design is gorgeous, Itâs kinetic and rhythmic pace is addicting, and its sense of fun is infectious.  Â
Remember, it was marketed with muzzle flashes, tough guy poses, seductive smiles and slow motion gunfights with Jay Zâs music giving boisterously empathetic narration in the trailer. What else could be expected other than glossy, forceful and imaginative escapism? Immensely entertaining escapism at that. Stop taking things so seriously, and have a little bit of fun. Life is too short. Â Â
And finally, to all those people saying it should have been more like The Untouchables... I enjoyed it far more than The Untouchables, so sue me. Go ahead and stone me while youâre at it, but before you cast the first stone, please explain to me how Mamet or De Palma thought this scene worked?
WANNA FIGHT?!
I personally would like to applaud Warner Bros, Lin Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures for producing a greatly entertaining movie that I will gladly revisit over and over again.
If you want the more detailed and serious exploration of similar material, read Paul Liebermanâs source material on the REAL gangster squad.
Buy his book, which the film is based on, here.