Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, and Others Try to Take Down Sean Penn in 'Gangster Squad' Trailer

Well, one can't blame Ruben Fleischer for switching things up a bit. His directorial debut, "Zombieland," was a surprise hit in 2009, with last year's "30 Minutes or Less" not doing quite as well. But even before that landed, production was underway on the seemingly straight-faced "Gangster Squad," and now the first trailer (also below) confirms a change of pace for the filmmaker.

Sean Penn is big bad made man Mickey Cohen, whose criminal enterprise easily rules over 1940s Los Angeles. Because of the cops in his pocket, men like Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, and Robert Patrick must operate outside the law to bring an end to Cohen's ruthless operation.

I still find the digital sheen of period films like this somewhat distracting (though not on the level of, say, "Public Enemies"), but this looks like a potentially solid West Coast answer to "The Untouchables." Currently sans a release date, "Gangster Squad" should be due out this fall.