Drug deals, prostitution, gambling and lots of stars in Ruben Fleischer's mafia movie.

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Los Angeles, 1949. Sergeant John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) is assigned by Police Chief William H. Parker (Nick Nolte) to go after gangster boss Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn). O'Mara soon realizes that conventional methods aren't going to work, so he assembles a team of specialists including ladies' man Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling) and technical expert Keeler (Giovanni Ribisi) to take down the mobster in their own way.

Drug deals, prostitution, gambling and lots of stars: this mafia movie by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) is based vaguely on real people in Los Angeles during the 1940's and 50's – an era already mined for movie plots in films like L.A. Confidential and The Black Dahlia. Leading the star power is Sean Penn, who purposefully hams it up in a way reminiscent of Al Pacino in Scarface and Robert De Niro in The Untouchables. But as opposed to those movies, Gangster Squad spends more effort on style and looks than on substance.