dromasca Sometimes telling the idea or describing the synopsis of the film is much clearer than the feeling that we had while viewing it. This is exactly my feeling about Broken City, a political thriller taking place in the days between the New York City mayoral elections (with a prologue and some flashbacks added). The story (a corruption case at the level of the candidates involved in the campaign including the incumbent mayor) and the cast should have provided the premises of a - at least - a good thriller. And yet, the outcome, in my opinion, disappoints.The name of the lead hero in the film is Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg). He is an ex-cop and the film starts with the episode which cut short his career in the police, a moment when apparently he was easy on the trigger on what seems to be a vigilante killing of a guy everybody hated. Turned into a private investigator he is involved in working for the New York mayor (Russell Crowe) in the final days of the election campaign. He seems to be a honest type, but involvement with politics is not made for honest people, especially as they have a dept to pay to the politician who supported him in his dark hours. All the story however becomes more complicated as the film develops, and the details (mostly related to real estate fraud) are never clear enough or interesting enough. The final is also far from convincing, with a final twist that was hard to believe, belonging to the psychology of self sacrifice.There are certainly reasons to watch this film I admired the quality of the actors - Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones. I wrote actors and not acting, because I do not believe that their roles here are any peak of their acting careers. The principal problem of this film is the story telling, too many threads, none of them too clear, some interrupted suddenly as the relation between the hero and his girlfriend, a character that simply disappears from the story with no much explanation. Broken City ends by being much less that it could have been.

Bryan Kluger I was majorly impressed with Allen Hughes of the Hughes brothers 'Broken City'. I've seen a lot of political crime dramas before, but none like this. This particular story dives into the deep dark corners of politics and the police force in New York City at the end of a big mayoral election. I'm calling it now. Brian Tucker's debut screenplay deserves at least an Oscar nomination for next year. This multi layered drama and its intense characters made this film shine above the rest in its genre.We focus on the trail end of a mayoral election campaign between the incumbent Mayor Hostetler (Russel Crowe) and the new young and rich opponent Jack Valliant (Barry Pepper), who both are trying to win the people of New York over housing and tax issues. However there are a lies, betrayals, murders, and other atrocious acts of violence and crime that riddle this complex story.We see the film through the eyes of Detective Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg), who was forced to quit the police force by Mayor Hostetler several years ago due to a crime scene gone wrong. Now present day during the tail end of the new mayoral race, Taggart has opened a Private Investigative practice and works with his assistant Katy (Alona Tal). Business is very good for Taggart, though his clients haven't been paying him on time, and he is owed over $40k in completed work, or else he might have to shut down his practice. Much to his fortune, Mayor Hostetler calls Taggart and hires him to take pictures of his wife Cathleen (Catherine Zeta- Jones) and find out who she is having an affair with. Taggart accepts the job in that the Mayor has just given him more than what he is owed from all of his clients.From here on out, we are led into a dark territory that seems to fall under the noir category as we find clue after clue that adds another twist to the story and we find out it wasn't just an affair the mayor's wife was having. I've never seen a film where every character hates one another. Sure, Taggart and his assistant work well together, but there is not a scene that goes by with them together where she doesn't call him an "asshole." And we don't only get the relationships between politicians here, but each character has a family too, which all seem to have a high level of hatred and violence for one another.The script is very well done, with quick, smart dialogue that is fresh and new. Plus we get a glimpse of each characters strengths and weaknesses, which showcase just how well each character was thought out. Wahlberg did an amazing job, which I think might be his best work since 'Boogie Nights'. He shows what a tortured soul he is and how he wants to do good, even if it's his downfall. Truly remarkable. And Crowe's performance is perfectly played out as a charming and witty politician with a very sinister undertone. Plus his New York accent is very good and believable. Zeta-Jones' character probably has the most depth and mystery surrounding her. She plays it perfectly, never knowing what side she is on. Unfortunately, she receives little screen time, but when she's on, she's golden.If you're looking for an action crime movie, this probably isn't it, although it has a few very rough scenes with violence and a small car chase, but this film mostly relies on smart dialogue, two-faced characters, and surprises at every turn to keep you on the edge of your seat, which it does from start to finish. Usually, the films that are released in January are sub-par, but 'Broken City' breaks that tradition. Highly recommended.

juneebuggy This was an average sort of political thriller despite the more than decent cast attached. A very tan (Russell Crowe) plays the mayor of NYC, he hires a disgraced former cop (Mark Wahlberg), now working as a private eye to expose his wife's (Catherine Zeta-Jones) infidelities. Along the way 'Billy' unravels a mystery that could bring about the end of more than just a marriage.Ultimately this was just entertaining. Russell Crowe gives a good performance as does Zeta-Jones as his cold wife. I also enjoyed Barry Pepper. Mark Wahlberg is sorta average, we've seen this role from him before and nothing stands out.The plot does become a bit muddled at times and the pacing felt off. There are random sex scenes and car chases thrown in and several (unsurprising) plot twists towards the end. Its not terrible but nothing remarkable happens either. 4/19/15

MacTheMovieguy Mark Wahlberg has been making some really good choices recently in terms of films. The Fighter, for example, stands out as a great choice for him. Russell Crowe, well, he was in Les Miserables which did well despite his singing. Somehow, these two read the script for the painfully boring Broken City and decided this was the film they wanted to make.In what would normally be wrapped up in an hour on Law and Order, Wahlberg plays Billy Taggart, an ex-cop turned Private Eye who is hired by the mayor (Russell Crowe) to spy on his cheating wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Only, Wahlberg isn't any ex-cop, he has a sketchy background where he may-or-may-not have executed someone in cold blood. And the wife? Well, she may-or-may-not be cheating on the mayor with someone (Kyle Chandler) from his opponent's (Barry Pepper) campaign. Of course, this is on of those films where nothing is as it seems, but everything is exactly as it seems, and you see everything coming a mile away. This is a redemption story for Billy, above all else.Again, this plot could have been wrapped up in one episode with Law and Order. The almost two hour runtime feels needlessly unnecessary, as you find Wahlberg over investigating a plot that was obvious to you thirty minutes ago. He comes across as the least competent detective in New York, and Crowe seems to be sleepwalking through his role as the mayor, mainly because he has very little to do except play the obvious villain. Zeta Jones doesn't offer much as the wife, and she honestly seems a little 'big' for her part, considering how little she's on screen. The direction from Allen Hughes, who has offered us more in the past (Menace II Society) just seems like an average TV director on an episode of NCIS. Competent, but bland.This isn't anything new, it doesn't bring anything exciting to the table or the genre. This 'Broken City' seems like every other city you've seen before, except this detective could benefit from knowing he was in a movie. Maybe then, he'd be able to jump ahead to the ending, and save us all an hour of our lives.