Better luck with zombies

He’s not so successful with a similar attempt to blend genres in “Gangster Squad.” His decision to take a modern approach to a 1940s-style gangster story gives the film a jumbled feel. The modern touches seem out of place, while the mob story lacks energy and tension.

There are some very good elements in this tale based loosely on the real story of the police officers who took a stand against organized crime in Los Angeles during the late 1940s. The team worked off the books and without any regard to the law. Anything was acceptable as long as the mob didn’t get a foothold in Southern California.

Fleischer shot the movie with a wink and a nod to the gangster films of the 1930s and 1940s. The good guys – particularly Josh Brolin as squad leader Sgt. John O’Mara – are a hard-nosed group. Brolin even seems to channel the quiet cool of Humphrey Bogart as he guides his men through the no-rules war on crime.

Even the film’s central bad guy, mobster Mickey Cohen, played by Sean Penn, looks like a refugee from a James Cagney movie with his evil stares and growling voice. The film’s at its best when Brolin and Penn are on the screen together.

The actors are given a beautiful backdrop as Fleischer makes ‘40s Los Angeles look like a magical place, from its high-priced night clubs to the mysterious back alleys. The director opted for a more vibrant filming style rather than the dark, glooming film noir look of the gangster-movie era. In this case, the visual approach is better because it gives a more mystical look to the movie.

Then there are the problems.

Fleischer has tried to put a spin on the classic gangster story with modern dialogue and touches of humor. This artistic juxtaposition is a distraction. The characters come across more like a bunch of 21st century buddies going to a gangster theme party than as a crew trying to keep Los Angeles safe.