Review of Broken City (2013) by Mauricio C — 22 May 2013

I kind of thought I would like this movie. Generally, I like Mark Wahlberg (Ted), and I think Russell Crowe (Les Miserables) is pretty good, despite what critics say about him in his post-Oscar days. However, this flick tries to do too much with too little and squanders the good things it has going for it.

For instance, talented actors like Catherine Zeta-Jones (Playing for Keeps), Barry Pepper (True Grit), and Kyle Chandler (Zero Dark Thirty) outshine the likes of Jeffrey Wright (Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close) and Natalie Martinez (End of Watch), but none of them get a payoff.

Wahlberg and Crowe don't even get developed well. Also, the movie is very political, but it's watered down to the most elementary trends to be anything of merit. (Though, it does paint the Republican-esque politician as the bad guy, naturally.

) It tries to be a whodunit thriller, but every twist is seen a mile away. It tries the sultry angle, but leaves the audience bored. It's really a shame to see this movie unfold. The game cast is wasted on this half-baked script that kind of makes you wonder why such big names gravitated toward it in the first place.