When a film gets bumped around the release calendar because of a national tragedy, it makes it easy to feel a little sorry for a film like 'Gangster Squad.' At this point it's an underdog, and with a cast (that includes Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Brolin and Sean Penn)  this talented we hope it works. There's a new featurette hoping to sell people on this new take on an old genre.

The film is due out on January 11, and it feels like expectations are low for the picture, but as long as the ensemble delivers some cool lines, and the action is regular, it may just be entertaining enough. Still, it felt like this was supposed to be something more. Here's the synopsis:

Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and–if he has his way–every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop…except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart. “The Gangster Squad” is a colorful retelling of events surrounding the LAPD’s efforts to take back their nascent city from one of the most dangerous mafia bosses of all time.

And here's that featurette:

More From ScreenCrush