Review of Broken City (2013) by Ashley H — 12 Jan 2014

Known for their tough, gritty roles, Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe appear opposite each other in the New York City-set, aptly titled 'Broken City.' The premise of the film is nothing earth-shattering - a controversial retired cop (Wahlberg) is tasked with investigating alleged spousal infidelity by the mayor of New York City (Crowe).

What unravels from here is a twisted series of double-crossing, mixed messages and first-rate blackmailing that meshes politics, race, corruption and big business. In terms of acting, Wahlberg does just about as well as his standard action/drama fare ('Contraband,' 'Shooter'), and Crowe does an okay job, but nowhere near his best performances.

Catherine Zeta-Jones doesn't really add much as Mayor Hostetler's wife, but Jeffrey Wright does an admirable job as the city's police commissioner, who is at odds with the mayor. While 'City' seeks to make things interesting by constantly putting different players in various lights, this makes it hard to root for anyone.

To add to things, the politics in 'City' get in the way of the overall film, which is a shame, because other similar films have been able to keep this from happening. While 'Broken City' earns points for originality from a script standpoint, and falters on execution, and is therefore a film that does not scream "must see.

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