Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2013

The “Hat Squad” was an elite unit illicitly sanctioned by legendary LAPD Chief William Parker in 1949 to play dirty with Mickey Cohen and drive the Mob out of El Lay. Fascinating story. Go rent the 1996 Mulholland Falls for more. But this tawdry, stylishly empty Untouchables wannabe is closer to Dick Tracy, and so dumbs down and amps up the story for the multiplex crowd that it plays more like a preposterone-drenched Fantastic Four sequel with tommy guns. Talent wasted in this dim-witted celebration of righteous bloodshed includes Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Nick Nolte, Ryan Gosling, and Emma Stone.