Ignore A.O. Scott, Gangster Squad Is Good

Contrary to the scathing review by A.O. Scott of the New York Times that I saw online back in January, Gangster Squad is a topnotch action movie and thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. Directed by the young Ruben Fleisher, who did Zombieland (2009), Gangster Squad is a Seven Samurai (1954), The Magnificent Seven (1960) set in mobster Mickey Cohen's post-war Los Angeles. The Yul Brenner role is played ably by Josh Brolin. Ryan Gosling is terrific; his character's romance with Cohen's etiquette coach, played by Emma Stone, actually enhances the movie rather than bog it down.

The key to a good action picture is a believable villain, the character who creates fear. Sean Penn delivers as Mickey Cohen, the ambitious, ruthless former pug who is on the verge of controlling all the parimutuel betting on the West Coast.

Fleisher borrows heavily from Michael Mann and the Wachowskis. But this is a good thing. Gangster Squad is an excellent example of the action genre. (It makes me question the value of reading A.O. Scott.)