4. Sgt. Jerry Wooters - Gangster Squad
Oh, Gangster Squad, I had such high hopes for you - but then, didn't we all? The film's director is actually talented, with the exceptional Zombieland and (the less brilliant) 30 Minutes Or Less ranking among some of the better comedies of recent memory, and the cast was incredible. With Gosling, Sean Penn, Emma Stone, and Josh Brolin playing major parts, and early promise suggesting an updated, slightly cooler The Untouchables, what could go wrong? Well, everything apparently. Ruben Fleischer clearly knows how to make a great comedy film, but his first foray into serious filmmaking is something that should have gone much better; Gangster Squad is tonally all over the place, visually similar to an animated film, and full of hammy performances. That, sadly includes that offered by Gosling, who, like the rest of the exceptionally talented cast is left hamstrung by the film's indecision whether it wants to be serious or a spoof of the gangster/noir genre. For once it's difficult to care about Gosling's character, or what will happen to him, particularly as the film meets its crescendo, which is somewhat criminal considering how well he usually gets under our skins as an audience, and it isn't helped by the fact that Sean Penn steals the film with a grand-standing, but admittedly excellent performance as the villain. He chews every inch of scenery, throwing ham liberally on the debris, and then challenges his fellow cast members to beat that - and sadly, Gosling is nowhere near up to the challenge here.