40
Metascore
38 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeThe cops play things as dirty as the crooks in Gangster Squad, an impressively pulpy underworld-plunger that embellishes on a 1949 showdown between a dedicated team of LAPD officers and Mob-connected Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) for control of the city.
- 60EmpireEmpireSean Penn's not been this fun since Jeff Spicoli and there's plenty of rip-roaring action, but Gangster Squad proves a minor entry in the annals of LA noir.
- 60Total FilmJames MottramTotal FilmJames MottramTypified by Penn's blustery performance, Gangster Squad is sleek, stylish but superficial. Easy on the eye, even easier on the brain, it doesn't last long in the memory.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyThe Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyMade up of synthetics rather than whole cloth, this lurid concoction superficially gets by thanks to a strong cast and jazzy period detail, but its cartoonish contrivances fail to convince and lack any of the depth, feeling or atmosphere of genre stand-bearers like "L.A. Confidential."
- 50Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanBrolin and Gosling are both supposed to be playing World War II veterans who bring their knowledge of battle into the tough turf of the streets, but that's just a concept that the sketchy, half-baked script tosses out there.
- 40Time OutKeith UhlichTime OutKeith UhlichThough based partly on actual events, Ruben Fleischer's ludicrous shoot-'em-up plays fast and loose with the facts, and plenty else besides.
- 30Village VoiceNick PinkertonVillage VoiceNick PinkertonThe proximity of horrible headlines scarcely matters - released on any day of any calendar year, Gangster Squad would be a crime against cinematic sensibility.
- 25Slant MagazineGlenn Heath Jr.Slant MagazineGlenn Heath Jr.Ruben Fleischer's film is a perfect example of Hollywood hypocrisy, something to be ignored diligently.
- 25The PlaylistThe PlaylistIn lieu of any sharp insight into the period and its notorious figures, the film's brash, ultraviolent encounters instead build a showy exterior with nothing of import left standing.