Film

Gangster Squad

A stylish 1949 crime thriller about a secret LAPD unit taking on Mickey Cohen's stranglehold on Los Angeles. It's a slick ensemble piece with vintage gloss, gun violence, and the kind of old-Hollywood swagger that lets you enjoy the ride without thinking too hard. For anyone who likes their crime stories sharp-dressed and morally straightforward.

TMDb rating3.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a period gangster caper with old-school swagger, a crew of mismatched cops, and a lot of tommy-gun set pieces played for pulp rather than grit.

Skip it if you need your crime stories grounded and morally knotty, since this one is glossy, broad and happy to trade character depth for a good shootout.

What it asks of you: It runs a brisk 113 minutes, moves quickly between shootouts and sly banter, and asks little more than a willingness to let style carry the plot.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

L.A. Confidential1997

A masterclass in 1950s LA noir that does exactly what Gangster Squad attempts: corrupt cops, mob intrigue, and a city poisoned from within. Sharper writing, more layered characters, and a plot that actually rewards attention.

But It's grittier and less fun—less cartoonish about its violence, more interested in moral compromise. If you want to feel good about the good guys, this isn't it.

L.A. Confidential poster

The Untouchables1987

Brian De Palma delivers the template this film follows: a righteous team versus an untouchable crime boss, period setting, ensemble camaraderie, and kinetic action sequences that still hold up. Seagal and Connery elevate every scene.

But It's more serious-minded and the pacing is deliberate. Lacks the glossy energy that makes Gangster Squad breezy.

The Untouchables poster

Lawless2012

Prohibition-era Virginia, a crime family fighting authority, and Tom Hardy delivering a performance that radiates quiet menace. The violence is intimate and the moral stakes feel real in ways the genre usually avoids.

But Darker and slower. Less concerned with being fun or stylish, more interested in the cost of that lifestyle.

Lawless poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Gangster Squad

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Baby Driver2017

Both are crime ensembles that prioritize visual style and momentum over character depth; both understand that tone can carry you further than realism.

Edgar Wright's heist film where the driving and the music *are* the story. Same world—crime, cops, getaways, ensemble action—but told through rhythm and visual language instead of dialogue. Gosling's DNA is all over this.

But The style overwhelms narrative. If you need plot coherence, you'll be frustrated. It's a music video masquerading as a film.

Baby Driver poster
More like this (8)

Chinatown1974

The greatest crime film ever made. 1940s LA, corruption woven into the city's DNA, a mystery that spirals rather than resolves neatly. If you want to understand why the setting and era matter, start here.

But Slow burn. The pleasures are cerebral and unsettling, not visceral. Requires you to sit with ambiguity and moral decay.

Chinatown poster

In a Lonely Place1950

Bogart in noir LA, a cop accused of murder he might not have committed. It's the era Gangster Squad mimics, but real—austere, psychologically complex, genuinely unsettling about power and corruption.

But Deliberately unglamorous. It undermines everything the 1940s aesthetic promises. Bleak in ways modern films rarely allow themselves to be.

In a Lonely Place poster

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang2005

A private eye story set in Los Angeles, funny without winking, violent without flinching. Shane Black understands how to make crime entertaining while keeping intelligence intact. Ryan Gosling fans will recognize his gifts here.

But Deliberately confusing structure and rapid-fire dialogue. The humor is caustic. If you want clarity and warmth, you won't find it.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang poster

Killers of the Flower Moon2023

Scorsese's three-and-a-half-hour meditation on American crime, corruption, and the erasure of an entire people. A complete immersion into how power corrupts. Leo and De Niro are superb. This is filmmaking at its most serious.

But Glacially paced. The moral weight is crushing. This is not entertainment in the traditional sense—it's a reckoning.

Killers of the Flower Moon poster

The Long Goodbye1973

Altman's revisionist take on the detective film. Marlowe in 1970s LA, the city indifferent and absurd around him. A meditation on masculinity and loyalty disguised as a crime story.

But Rambling and oblique. Nothing happens in the way you expect. Some find it brilliant; others find it frustrating.

The Long Goodbye poster

Nickel Boys2024

A crime-adjacent story about institutional evil in 1960s Florida, grounded in real history. Thoughtful, intimate, and unexpectedly moving about how power destroys the innocent.

But Quiet and reflective rather than thrilling. The story is painful to watch. Not what you want if you're looking for heroic catharsis.

Nickel Boys poster

The Killers1964

Both films are about professional criminals executing plans with precision; Killers invented the template that Gangster Squad borrows, but stripped of romance.

Siegel's opening: two hitmen arrive in a small town to kill a man. One of the greatest pieces of filmmaking ever made. Black-and-white, tense, the seed of every crime thriller that followed. Twenty minutes that prove you don't need color or quips to mesmerize.

But Austere and glacial. In black and white. Made in 1964. If you want energy and spectacle, this will feel like penance.

The Killers poster

GoodFellas1990

Both are ensemble crime stories that find style and humor in brutality; Goodfellas is what Gangster Squad reaches for but doesn't quite grasp—the ability to make violence and loyalty feel like seduction.

Scorsese's definitive mob film. Narrated, kinetic, hilarious, violent, and completely alive. The energy is infectious. Yes, it's famous—but it's famous because it's perfect. An education in why crime films matter.

But It's longer than you remember. It's also more brutal about women and more darkly funny. If you want a story where crime doesn't pay, this isn't it—it's about why it does.

GoodFellas poster

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