Sean Penn plays a mobster with twisted relish in 'Gangster Squad' (+trailer)
鈥淕angster Squad鈥� is a deliberately retro crime thriller about the rise and fall of Los Angeles mobster Mickey Cohen, played by Sean Penn with such twisted relish that at times he resembles a gargoyle 鈥� or maybe Gollum. Penn is always entertaining when he鈥檚 playing characters drunk with depravity. 鈥淕angster Squad鈥� could use more of him, despite a top-drawer cast that includes Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Michael Pe帽a, Giovanni Ribisi, and Anthony Mackie.
Most of them are wasted (especially Pe帽a) in subpar bang-bang theatrics that look like discards from 鈥�L.A. Confidential鈥� or 鈥淭he Untouchables.鈥� Brolin鈥檚 character heads up the titular squad to rid the city of Mickey and the Mafia. Director Ruben Fleischer and screenwriter Will Beall can鈥檛 decide whether to make a spoof or a serious drama, so they wrongheadedly attempt both. Grade: C (Rated R for strong violence and language.)
