Gangster Squad, the next film from Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer, was originally scheduled for release in early September. However, the film included a climactic scene involving a theater shooting and, due to the proximity to the Aurora shootings in late July, the film was pushed back and the scene replaced completely.

While I understand the logic behind the film’s delay, I think that that specific scene’s absence harms the film as a piece of art more than it pays respect to the lives lost. I can’t speak as a total authority on the scene since I haven’t seen it, but if what it was replaced with was any indication, it would’ve spoken to the gravitas of the deaths of citizens en masse, not made irreverent entertainment out of it.

Similar to Django Unchained on the subject of slavery, the film doesn’t treat dark subject matter lightly, and the devastation that results from the theater shootings in the film would feel like a more respectful thing than shying away from the topic altogether, regardless of the proximity to such an event.

Anyway, let’s talk about the movie that we got rather than the movie it could’ve been. Gangster Squad features an all-star cast including Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Emma Stone, Robert Patrick, Giovanni Ribisi, Nick Nolte, and others. Inspired by stories about infamous gangster Mickey Cohen and the end of his criminal activities in late 1940’s Los Angeles, the film follows Josh Brolin’s character John O’Mara as he brings together a group of cops to act above the law and tear down Mickey’s operation.

The film’s plot is fairly predictable and nothing spectacular, but the dialogue helps alleviate some of this. It’s period-appropriate and properly snappy, and the lines Gosling’s character Jerry delivers are pretty great in particular. The movie is never as downright hilarious as Zombieland, but there are plenty of comedic moments strewn about that keep the film entertaining.

However, the film also tries to include some fairly sappy plotlines, like the relationship between Jerry and Grace (played by Emma Stone), which never goes anywhere interesting and doesn’t really add much to the film. In the end, the plot is enjoyable yet cliché and predictable, but it’s probably not why you ought to see this movie.

Instead, the performances and visuals are the film’s centerpiece. Ryan Gosling is cool and fun as usual, Josh Brolin is a solid lead, and Sean Penn’s over-the-top portrayal of Cohen is quite entertaining to watch. Emma Stone does what she can with her limited screen time, Anthony Mackie plays a surprisingly badass squad member, and Giovanni Ribisi is as absorbing as ever.

Visually, the film’s clean and detailed rendition of 1949 Los Angeles is a pleasure to experience, and the world feels lively and contrasts the often dark subject matter. The soundtrack is great throughout, but nothing about it really stands out.

As it stands, Gangster Squad is a fairly entertaining film with good performances, great action, and a poor plot. I hope that come the time of the release on DVD and Blu-Ray, the scenes that were taken out are shown to us, because I feel pretty strongly that it would make for a more impactful, more important movie.