Gangster Squad

      Why I would choose to watch Bullet to the Head before my mind registered the presence of Gangster Squad shows me how ignorant I have been. To tell you the truth, it's due to the movie title. My mind just sidelined the flick because it thought that I would be wasting my time with a movie that has "squad" in the title. It just wasn't appealing to me. REMEMBER: Never judge a book by its cover!
      It wasn't until I noticed Ryan Gosling in the cast when I threw aside any current responsibilities to go watch it. There was no other choice because, hands down, I think Ryan Gosling is one of the top actors of this time. It's because of his style, his ability to say a thousand words with just a particular look on his face, and his fluid adaptability, that he made a consistent fan out of me. Get this, he wasn't even the best part!
      Set in 1949, Gangster Squad, directed by Ruben Fleischer, outlines a war for Los Angeles. On one side, you have a power hungry mob king Micky Cohen, played by Sean Penn and on the other, the law. Brolin, who plays the role of Sgt. John O'Mara, is asked by the LA police chief to create a secret crew of determined and skillful officers to take down Cohen and liberate Los Angeles from his tight clutch. O'Mara and Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Gosling) go headfirst into this grand firefight and we as viewers have an opportunity to see all hell break loose. We also have a familiar chance of seeing Gosling and Emma Stone back in action again. Tell me that they don't have wonderful chemistry. Their relationship was so refreshing that I had to go searching for Stupid Crazy Love and watch it over again.
       If you don't mind me asking, what got into Brolin? This isn't the same Brolin that I saw in MIB3. He brought it and made this movie kick ass. Brolin made O'Mara the equivalent of a rampant chainsaw born just to sing doom to criminals. He was my favorite part of the movie. Gosling took a different path. He brought to life a smarter more laid back cop which made him the perfect complement for Brolin. They completed each other. Although skillful, there were a couple of instances when these handpicked cops seemed a bit amateurish but you know what? It made it all the more interesting to watch. There's something about amateur heroes kicking butt that gives you hope.

This movie gets a JPB rating of 7.5/10.