Los Angeles, 1949. Jewish crime boss Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) has a vice like grip on the city and its corrupt police force. That is until Police Chief William Parker (Nick Nolte) asks Sergeant John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) to form the Gangster Squad. An off the books unit whose task is to dismantle Cohen’s empire piece by piece. 

Based on the non-fiction book by Paul Lieberman that tells the true story of the squad formed to tackle organised crime in Los Angeles, this film is the entirely fictionalised version of events. Here the real life facts have been adapted fast and loose to provide a glossy modernised cops versus gangster movie that takes more than a little inspiration from the seminal 1987 film The Untouchables. The result is entertaining but not a patch on Brian De Palma’s effort featuring Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro and Andy Garcia. 

The plot sees the morally sound O’Mara bring together a group of police officers to fight fire with fire and damage Cohen’s enterprises. O’Mara’s right hand man is Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling) who is more interested in gambling whilst looking the other way until Cohen’s actions leave an innocent shoe shine boy dead in front of him. Wooters is also the charmer who happens to be dating Cohen’s girlfriend Grace Faraday (Emma Stone). The team also features a cowboy six shooter cop, Max Kennard (Robert Patrick) and his Mexican protege Navidad Ramirez (Michael Pena) as well as Coleman Harris (Anthony Mackie) and a techie family man named Conwell Keeler (Giavanni Ribisi) who provides listening bugs and plans. 

The imagery, costumes and sets are slick with post war Los Angeles looking both glamorous and sleazy. The cast is stacked with big names, earnest performances, beautiful faces and charismatic personalities. The action sequences are polished and achieve their purpose. Whilst the message of good will prevail over evil is uplifting even in the questionable tactics adopted by the good guys. The result is therefore incredibly entertaining. But a little hollow. 

Brolin and Penn’s performances are both a little overwrought and earnest. Mackie and Pena have little to do other than fill the equality quota in the team (in real life they were all white). Whilst Patrick and Ribisi play characters whose cliche precedes their endings. It is only really Gosling and Stone (in their second of three films where they play a couple) that light the screen on fire with their charisma and character. 

Gangster Squad is slick and entertaining whilst being wildly untrue and hugely derivative of a much better film. Watch this and have fun. Then watch The Untouchables and basque in its perfection.