Gangster Squad

When the two civilian men are playing Chinese Chess in Chinatown, the pieces clearly do not represent an actual game because some of the pieces are in positions that are not possible in a regular game.

The film gives the impression that the Gangster Squad were responsible for Mickey Cohen's arrest.

In reality, Cohen was arrested in 1950 for the more mundane crime of tax evasion.

He was also not sent to Alcatraz until 1961, over a decade after the film's time frame.

The movie suggests that Mickey Cohen had Jack Dragna murdered in his own house, but in real life Jack Dragna died of an heart attack years later.

The movie is set in the late 40's/early 50's while Dragna died of the heart attack in '56.

When Grace Faraday is introduced in the restaurant, the napkin stuffed down Mickey Cohen's shirt disappears and reappears between shots.

This movie has a powerful cast but a pretty rickety screen play with stupid plot twists and a totally contrived, happy ending. Sean Penn shines when he's stewing about his territory, but most of what Brolin does is so worn out, it's empty ditto to Ryan Gosling's character, though the shoe-shine boy scene is worth the admission.

Mobster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) wants to take over post-World War II Los Angeles by controlling drugs, prostitution and most importantly controlling the flow of gambling money all the way from Chicago to L.A.

Post Second World War Los Angeles has been hijacked by the mobster businesses, who have seamlessly weaved a web of influence, which connects the underworld with politics and law enforcement, making mob law the only rule of law. Mob boss Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) sees the potential for domination, given the overreach of power he now possesses, to take his business statewide and override the hierarchy of East Coast domination.

In 1949, gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) is taking over L.A.

Gangster Squad is entertaining as hell. It's also a total mess.

With a great cast the story was equally powerful, like the movie 'Public Enemy'. Sean Penn and Josh Brolin are the men of the movie, which is all about them and their clash.

GANGSTER SQUAD is a light, fast-paced gangster action movie set in Los Angeles, 1949. It offers something a little more superficial and action-packed than the heady delights of TV's BOARDWALK EMPIRE, and is of course the inferior piece in every respect, but nonetheless it still packs the punch thanks to a strong storyline and fun performances from the majority of the cast.

Well, something said to my perception that the purpose of this movie had something serious on it. Half an hour later I discovered that I was wrong.

In this period gangster thriller we are sent back to 1949 post WW2. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) returns from war and back to sunny Los Angeles where things have changed drastically.