
It's 1949 Los Angeles, and gangster Mickey Cohen has moved in, with the intention of controlling all criminal activity in the city. He has bought local judges and police, and no one is willing to cross him or testify against him. Everyone except Sergeant John O'Mara, a former World War II soldier, whose goal is to settle with his family in a peaceful Los Angeles. Police Chief William Parker decides to form a special unit whose mission is to take down Cohen, and chooses O'Mara... (Full plot summary below)
Enjoy FREE movies and series with your Prime (USA) subscription or when you start a 30-day free trial!
Links compiled using automated software. Availability of offers subject to change / might be region specific / out of date.
It's 1949 Los Angeles, and gangster Mickey Cohen has moved in, with the intention of controlling all criminal activity in the city. He has bought local judges and police, and no one is willing to cross him or testify against him. Everyone except Sergeant John O'Mara, a former World War II soldier, whose goal is to settle with his family in a peaceful Los Angeles. Police Chief William Parker decides to form a special unit whose mission is to take down Cohen, and chooses O'Mara to lead the unit. O'Mara chooses 4 cops and asks another cop and vet, Jerry Wooters to join him but Wooters is not interested. After Wooters witnesses the murder of a young boy by Cohen's people, he joins them, and they decide to take apart Cohen's organization. Cohen wonders if a rival is going after him, eventually he realizes it's the cops.
Leave your thoughts about Gangster Squad.
| AALBC.comKam WilliamsA high body-count showdown featuring all the staples of the genre, from flashy Zoot suits to Tommy guns to street smart dialogue mixing slang and savoir faire in a manner reminiscent of Damon Runyon. |
| Reel Talk OnlineCandice FrederickIt's a lazy, watered down gangster flick that is not nearly as clever or as new as it attempts to be. |
| OK! MagazinePhil VillarrealCount me among those who bail. Gangster Squad may be a poor movie, but it's a top-a-the-heap gangsta pitcha. |
| FilmDrunkVincent ManciniI don't mind not thinking too hard if I'm going to get something out of it at some point, but this is more like a self-perpetuating Ouroboros loop of not thinking too hard. |
| Sky CinemaTim EvansIt might not be much easier to buy than a 1950s True Detective comic, but this is as slick and explosive as a barrel of high-octane hair oil. |
| ScreenAnarchyEric D. SniderFlitting between over-the-top violence, grim moral posturing, and matinee thrills, this is a broad, two-dimensional crime noir that thinks it's deeper and smarter than it is. |
| Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)Linda CookWill it win any awards for 2013? Well, no. But 'Gangster Squad,' a shoot-'em-up nod to pulp thrillers, will provide solid entertainment for fans of crime dramas. |
| Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta)Brian GibsonComes off as a hollow masquerade, play-acting at machismo for nearly two hours. Along with the furniture tossed in fits of rage, there are empty flourishes of neo-noir style, rote action sequences, and little danger for our hardboiled heroes. |
| Shared DarknessBrent SimonThe very jokey forthrightness of its title evokes a kind of disposable pop-art mash-up of The Untouchables and L.A. Confidential, but with the seriousness of an old Saturday morning serial. |
| CinemalogueTodd Jorgenson... could have used more narrative and historical context to go with its evocative visual style. Instead, it's a story that feels timeless for the wrong reasons. |