Sometimes less is more. Sometimes a movie can just cram too much story and characters into one movie, which unfortunately is something this movie didn't quite get.

And that's all a shame really. By simplifying and minimizing its story, this movie so easily could have turned into a truly compelling- and maybe even tense one to watch.

But don't get me wrong, it's not like this ever becomes a complicated or confusing movie to watch story-wise. It just happens to be so that the movie decides to throw in multiple different plot lines and characters, of which most are going absolutely nowhere. It has too many needless distractions in it, that besides don't add anything to the movie its tension or mystery. The main plot line of the movie seemed fine and interesting enough to me on its own, so you could say this movie is a bit of a missed opportunity.

Perhaps some of the story lines and characters wouldn't have felt as pointless if some of the characters got instead played by some lesser known actors. But once you see Susan Sarandon you expect her to become a big part of the movie. And also for instance, once Nick Nolte shows up, you expect him to start playing a crucial part within the movie its story. Certain actors raise certain expectations but in all honesty, most of the wonderful actors within this movie play some very throwaway roles. This goes for the likes of Susan Sarandon, Richard Jenkins, Anna Kendrick, Sam Elliott, Chris Cooper and Nick Nolte, among others. It seems that Robert Redford (who also directed this movie) just has too many friends in Hollywood and wants to put them all in his movies.

Of course nothing wrong with the acting though. The cast-list along is probably already plenty of reason for some people to go watch this movie and it's not like this movie isn't worth seeing or disappointing as a whole but let me just say that all of the actors in this movie have been in far better ones. So don't expect too much from this movie, based on its cast-list.

Don't mean to sound too negative about this movie but it's always a shame to see some great potential go to waste. It's certainly still a perfectly watchable one, that unfortunately is just trying to do too much with its story, which not only results in some redundant moments and characters but also some poor developments, that already cause the movie to die down before the movie reaches its climax.

6/10

This is a well made movie but at the same time also one that offers far too little.

Sure, this is some decent enough entertainment but that doesn't mean that it does everything right as well. On the contrary really. In some regards it's even a really poor movie, especially story-wise.

The problem with the story is that it's very hard to discover a true main plot line in this movie. There is very little to latch on to as a viewer and it's hard to get behind any of the characters and their motivations, since everything gets handled so poorly and is basically nonexistent.

In essence the story is very simple and straightforward. This can be a good thing at times but in this particular case, this movie feels terribly underwritten. So basically it's a movie about a crime lord, played by Sean Penn, who is trying to take control of Los Angeles and about the special police squad, that is assigned to stop him. But what's the big plan and what are Mickey Cohen's (Sean Penn) specific intentions? I have absolutely no idea, since the movie never bothers to explain. And what big plan does the police have to stop him? There seems to be none really and all this movie basically consists out of are police men and gangster shooting at each other, busting places and chases, which works fine for its entertainment but gives the movie little to none depth.

This movie often gets compared to "The Untouchables" and for some good reasons. They feature a similar sort of concept, similar type of characters and it is approximately set in the same time period (well, not really but it surely still looks and feels that way!). This however also forms a bit of a problem for this movie. Saying this movie is like "The Untouchables" already raises certain expectations, while the movie down in its core is still a totally different movie, that's also going for a totally different approach. While "The Untouchables" is more gritty like entertainment, "Gangster Squad" is far more over-the-top and doesn't always take itself as seriously. In some ways the movie even feels more like a comic-book type of movie and there is nothing wrong with that of course, as long as you go in having the right sort of expectations and don't expect anything different from this movie.

A thing that the movie has going for it is its cast. I wish I could also say that it uses its actors well though. As mentioned before, the characters are all terribly shallow ones and it's hard to feel involved with any of them but at least most of the actors still give their best, which results in still some pretty good and entertaining performances. I for instance liked Josh Brolin in this, as a tough looking, tough sounding and tough acting cop. And I indeed also liked Sean Penn as the movie it's main villain, despite the fact that he hardly gets anything interesting to do in this. I was actually surprised to see him as such a stereotypical, mustache twirling, villain in this, since I thought that he refused to play villains, ever since "Carlito's Way". He's good at it tough and easily still the most entertaining thing about the movie. All of the other characters and actors aren't really very noteworthy. Hardly any of that is their fault though but it should be blamed on its simplistic and lacking writing instead.

Positive thing to also note about this movie is that it remains a well made- and good looking one. Technically and visually it does very little wrong and yes, you actually could say that this is the foremost reason why the movie still remains to be such a perfectly watchable one.

It's perfectly entertaining but just not a very good movie though!

6/10

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Jason Statham's career isn't really going anywhere, as long as he keeps doing movies like this. Basically he's currently nothing more but the Steven Seagal of some slightly more expensive action movies. It comes down to it that he not only keeps showing up in the same type of movies but he also continues the same type of roles. Oh well, it's definitely something you could make a career out of but it's still a real shame, since Statham showed so much more potential, at the start of his career.

No, it's not like this movie is a bad one but it happens to be a very generic one and there's nothing special about it really. As a matter of fact, in some regards this is even a lesser movie than the average, modern, genre attempt.

As weird as it may sound, the movie is a bit overwritten. This movie had all the potential in it to become a very simplistic and straightforward revenge flick but the way the revenge plays out is far from interesting or exciting to watch really. It tries to take things a bit too serious, by adding pointless and distracting layers and developments to the story. instead of having some fun, the movie wants to be too serious and tries to be more clever with its story than it in fact truly is.

Also the Jennifer Lopez character for instance. When given the right sort of role, she is fine as an actress and she also is doing just fine in this movie but did the movie even needed to have her character in it? Seriously, she doesn't even show up until halfway through the movie and the movie so easily could had done without her plot line and character.

She gets in the way of a lot of things and for instance takes away the screen time from the movie its villains, who are truly hardly present in this movie at all. It's weird how the villains basically only show up in the beginning and end of the movie and it's even weirder to see Nick Nolte in a small, throwaway role. You expect him to play a bigger and more important role toward the end of the movie but no, as it turns out his role is nothing more but an extended cameo, that basically could had been played by just about everybody.

Yet it's not a terrible movie by any means. It remains perfectly watchable, mostly due to its pace and it of course still has some nice action moments, even though they are incredibly formulaic (really, how many more guys are we going to see hanging from a balcony in movies, after a fight?).

It's not terribly exciting, not terribly surprising and not terribly impressive but at least the movie itself isn't terrible to watch!

6/10

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A thief with a unique code of professional ethics is double-crossed by his crew and left for dead. Assuming a new disguise and forming an unlikely alliance with a woman on the inside, he looks to hijack the score of the crew's latest heist. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Taylor Hackford

Starring: Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis and others

Current release date: January 25, 2013

A thief lives by a code of honor that includes never stealing money from people who need it. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Taylor Hackford

Starring: Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis and others

Current release date: January 25, 2013

Well, lets just start of by saying this movie is no way near as good as the original movie "Nattevagten", of which this movie is a remake but it's still being a pretty good and fun whodunit to have a good time with.

Kind of weird to notice how different this movie is in atmosphere and approach, since it actually got directed by the same director who made the original, 3 years prior to this American remake. And it's not just different but also most definitely less effective. There is not as much tension and mystery in this one, also due to some pacing issues (it's too fast paced at times) and a poor buildup to things.

And all while this movie in essence is still being just like the original. Not much had been changed in its story really and I was therefore also quite surprised to find out Steven Soderbergh was involved with the writing. Guess it was an easy paycheck for him, since really not all that much had been changed or added to the movie, when compared to the original movie.

While the original was being a whole lot of different things, this movie is just being a more simple and more straightforward thriller, or rather said whodunit. So really, don't expect this movie to provide you with any horror but as a mystery/thriller, I can still see this movie entertaining a whole bunch of people out there, of course especially those who aren't familiar with the original movie already.

And really, the movie on its own is really being quite good and entertaining for what it is. It really doesn't handle everything well, mainly stuff concerning the earlier mentioned pacing and buildup to things but as a whole it's still being a better movie than just the average genre attempt. There are plenty of thrills and surprises in it, that help to keep you invested in the movie.

It also has a cast to die for. Really an all-star cast, of which some actors are better known now days as back then. Ewan McGregor plays the main lead, while the movie further more stars Patricia Arquette, Nick Nolte, a still very young looking Josh Brolin, Brad Dourif and John C. Reilly. Not that this movie features any of their best or most interesting and challenging performances but still, it's always good to see so many talented people together on screen.

A definitely good enough movie as a straightforward thriller.

7/10

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A chronicle of the LAPD's fight to keep East Coast Mafia types out of Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Ruben Fleischer

Starring: Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and others

Current release date: September 7, 2012

(Review originally written at 24 November 2007)

No doubt that this is a professionally made movie but the story is truly lacking at times. The getting clean and finding conciliation with her son seem like two totally different things in the movie, even though they are obviously connected to each other. It's one of the reasons why I regard this as a disjointed picture.

Other reasons are that not all story lines seems that relevant in the movie movie and not all get wrapped up properly. Some characters in the long run are pretty redundant ones. It makes the movie move slower than really necessary at times. The movie is already quite short now but in my opinion it could and perhaps also should had been even 10-20 minutes shorter.

You can say a lot of things about this movie but you can't accuse it of not being original. Despite not having a so original story, the movie at all times keeps a realistic and original approach of things. I think this really says something about the directing qualities of Olivier Assayas.

The movie gets entirely carried by Maggie Cheung. She acts in 3 totally different languages for a large part in this movie. You have got to respect that! Which other actor can say he or she is capable of doing that? But no, it wasn't always a character I could sympathize with, since she is still a kind of offbeat person. It still was the movie that introduced the western world to Maggie Cheung. Nick Nolte also of course plays one fine role, though his role is perhaps a bit more limited than you would expect. And man, how heavy was he on the bottle during the filming off this movie? At times his hands were shaking and he was touching his head. Something tells me this wasn't acting or part of his character. Nolte is of course notorious for his drinking problems. The Nick Nolte character and the Maggie Cheung character also don't really feel connected in this movie. as if they were making two completely different pictures at the time on their own. It just doesn't feel right, not even when they're together in the same scene. It feels like two captain on one ship, with each of them taking their own course.

See it's for its fine directing but don't expect to be blown away by a terribly sad or powerful dramatic story.

6/10