Gangster Squad

It's "L.A. Confidential" meets "The Untouchables" and "The Godfather" meets "Dirty Harry" at the O.K. Corral when mobster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) tries to control West Coast crime from Los Angeles in 1949. An ex-war hero/honest lawman (Josh Brolin) puts together a special squad to fight guerrilla warfare against the gangsters. The ensemble cast is terrific and also includes Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Robert Patrick, and Giovanni Ribisi. It's a gangster movie so you got to expect a high level of violence, but the line separating the good guys from the bad guys gets blurred. This inspired by a true story comes with it's tommy guns blazing and takes the audience on a seat gripping thrill ride. This great looking film is predictable, but you'll get what you paid to see, an old fashion noir detective story.

Alien gives it 3 ½  "Slapsy Maxie's" stars out of 4.