"You're gonna be begging for a bullet before it's over."

Based on Paul Leiberman's non-fictional account of mob violence in LA, Gangster Squad is a thinly veneered shoot em up that expects little from its audience, and delivers as much. Post-war Los Angeles is drowning in crime. Enter John O'Mara (Josh Brolin), a WW2 vet turned cop in search of an identity. 'You can stop fighting,' pleads his wife when he decides to knock over vicious criminal king-pin Mickey Cohen (a roiling Sean Penn in oversized suits). His Batman without a cape quickly earns the attention of LAPD chief Nick Nolte who takes O'Mara off the grid to take down the East Coast gangster for good.

Cue sensational overload as O'Mara assembles his squad and moves in on Cohen's operation for the mobster is one to take it lying down – there's gold in them hills and Cohen wants it all. Cue sensational violence as he and O'Mara, supported by slippery sidekick Ryan Gosling (so slippery he's made a move on Cohen's girlfriend Emma Stone) fight for the soul of Los Angeles.

The stand out is The Killing's Mirielle Enos as O'Mara's heavily pregnant wife who, acutely aware that the best way to keep her husband is to protect the cop, steps in as the brains of the outfit. It's a nice touch that helps keep some of the testosterone in check. Emma Stone is less fortunate (unless you count snogging Ryan Gosling) yet perfectly serviceable as Mickey's moll. Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Mackie, Michael Peña and Robert Patrick round out the usual suspects.

Australian cinematographer Dion Beebe (Collateral) brings a sweaty urgency as befits a heightened image of Los Angeles, even though much of the action takes place during Christmas winter. The decision (his or that of director Rubin Fleishcher (Zombieland)) to keep tight, anxious framing during many, many fight scenes fails to support the film. Mostly it's a blancmange of guns and body parts peppered with gotcha moments – knife in hand, body ripped in half during the tone-setting opener. Throw in Penn's turbulent performance and all the elements are in place: sleek but superficial. Despite the 'true story' tag, Gangster Squad is pure Hollywood lore where truth gets little traction.

It's a thematic version of violent reality that will certainly find its audience. Hopefully not a gun-toting teenager who takes the movie's dysfunctional moral compass as a life lesson – LAPD, it's not OK to sanction the vigilante actions of murderous cops, OK? In light of the Colorado Dark Knight massacre and no doubt aware of the commercial liability of having gunmen shoot up the inside of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, that scene was edited out. This focus group approach lends Will Beal's corny screenplay a synthetic after taste rather than give heft to what should be a ballsy romp a la Dick Tracy meets L.A. Confidential.

Boardwalk Empire it's not, leaving Gangster Squad to thrash around a badly drawn middle ground of instant gratification. Replete with Jessica Rabbit lookalike, the poster says it all.

// COLIN FRASER

Previewed at Event Cinemas, George Street, Sydney on Monday 7 January 2013
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With the current gun rampages in the USA, this rather violent drama makes for some uncomfortable viewing. And indeed, the release date for Gangster Squad was delayed in the USA due to the necessity of re-shooting the trailer, as the original showed a mob of gangsters shooting up a cinema through the screen. We live in turbulent times, almost as violent as Los Angeles in the 1940s to 1950s. This is when a psychopathic ex-boxer Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) went to war to kick the Chicago mob out of the City of Angels and the LAPD… well, some of them, went all out to stop him from running organised crime in their city.

Cohen was a drug and money laundering baron who ruled with real malevolence. He had everyone under his thumb, including the courts and the cops, many of who were on his payroll. Penn sets the tone for the film. Wearing oversized suits and an expression that could cut through a meat carcass, he makes it clear that he is a force to be reckoned with.

Sgt John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) is commandeered into wiping out Cohen’s businesses and he enlists a group of tough cops, some of whom are ex-army and passionate in the fight to protect their city, considering that’s what they went to war for. O’Mara is a straight-shooter (pardon the pun) who considers that “every man carries a badge” and is identified by the nature of his profession. With his ruthless group, including his reluctant sidekick, Sgt Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), they set out to get the dirty business done. Meanwhile Wooters has a relationship with Cohen’s squeeze, Grace (Emma Stone), just to complicate the issue and rack up the tension.

Although a title tells us at the start that the film is based on a true story, scriptwriter Beall plays fast and loose with the facts – this ain’t no documentary. Director Rueben Fleischer (30 Minutes Or Less, Zombieland) takes us on an almost cartoonish killing spree and Australian cinematographer Dion Beebe (Chicago, Nine) succeeds in making the movie look like a graphic novel. The use of heightened lighting and framing make for moments when you could almost see the words zap and pow ballooning across the screen, followed by a rat-a-tat-tat accompanying the many machine gun volleys. Penn particularly looks like he’s walked off the set of Dick Tracy, all prostheses and ill-fitting clothes.

This is not a film for everyone but those who like the gangster genre won’t be disappointed. The fine performances by Brolin, Penn and Gosling make for a decent outing. Gangster Squad is a reminder of how unnerving it is when the streets are awash with artillery and gunmen are running amok.

// SALT

Previewed at Event Cinemas, George Street, Sydney on Monday 7 January 2013
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