Gangster Land

Gangster Land

GANGSTER LAND is about the rise of Chicago gangster Al Capone. The story is mainly told through the point of view of his second in command, “Machine Gun” Jack McGurn, who was Capone’s right-hand man. McGurn was an amateur boxer who was drawn deep into the Italians’ grip when he avenged his step-father’s death.

Shortly after rising to the top in underworld with Capone, a Las Vegas-based mafia boss, he was one of the first to order socio-economic crime made by the Italian mafia in America in the late 1900’s. As the mafia Italian mob established as the most powerful criminal organization in the country, the tensions with Bugsy Moran and the Irish Mafia have created a brutal gang war which led to the St Valentine’s Day massacre.

Review: I am a big fan of the gangster genre and there really aren’t that many good ones out these days so I was really excited to hear about Gangster Land (previously known as In the Absence of Good Men) which focuses on Al Capone’s rise as well as ‘Machine Gun’ Jack McGurn.

In terms of new plot elements, it does not offer stuff that the audience has not seen before. However, the overall experience of the motion picture is quite relaxing as it doesn’t feel lengthy and I thought that Sean Faris was perfect for the role of Jack McGurn; he is somewhat of a younger Tom Cruise, but a bit tamped with viciousness.

He is a tragic figure in some examples, but because he himself chose that life, it is hard to feel compassion for a person whose job is to take out people with machine guns. He could have been a champ boxer but after his dad got killed he wanted to get back at someone and partnered up with Al Capone which means he basically signed his own death warrant.

Also, I want to mention that always thought Jason Patric was supposed to be something so I was happy to witness him being busy with a substantial role in this magic as a police officer who is bent on seeing justice prevail.

Milo Gibson’s Al Capone is portrayed as somewhat of a sympathetic character who doesn’t manage to evoke that alarming presence existing within the incarnation of De Niro in The Untouchables even though he has his moments, like practicing his golf swing on someone’s face. Maybe it’s strange for me to even think it out loud (in any case, it is not the most surprising thing) but I feel it could have been even more bloody violence, not only because I am a sick bastard (which I am) but also just to enhance the sense of danger.

However, this is not a film that romanticizes this life, but I would have enjoyed seeing more of Al Capone smashing people’s heads in (like De Niro in The Untouchables) or any of Scorsese’s gangster flicks where you literally get nauseous from how brutal and outrageous their profession is.

The film could have also benefited from being longer since we would have been able to develop connections with the characters; it all goes a bit too quickly so the audience never develops any real concern about the result. There also isn’t all that much when it comes to the action but I guess that is primarily because of the lack of a budget. Nevertheless, that does not take away from the fact that it is well wired and enjoyable.

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