Review of Broken City (2013) by Bradley W — 26 Jan 2013

Broken City had all the ingredients to make a great film, a good cast, an interesting trailer, and a good director, but in the end it just becomes a big flop. Allen Hughes is known for his credits with his brother Albert Hughes, but it turns out that we need both brothers to get a good film from them. His direction wasn't bad, in fact it was the script that drags the film down, but there really wasn't anything particular that stood out from other crime films to make this one special. I like what Hughes did with films like "The Book of Eli" and "From Hell" where they had their own style and smooth storytelling that made them both memorable and good films. The sad thing is that we have a lot of great talent here, actors Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe are some of the best and biggest names in Hollywood, so I want to know why they would agree to such a silly script. But I must admit, even I was under the impression that this would be a great film, so it's not really there fault. They were actually the biggest reason the film wasn't a total failure, but in the end it's really nothing we haven't seen before. This really is just a film released at the start of the year that nobody will remember within a few months. It seems like they were trying to make a modern day version of Roman Polanski's "Chinatown," and the end result just doesn't work. It has some good moments and some great actors, but in the end Broken City just felt like a waste of time and money.

The story follows ex-cop turned private investigator Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg) who is having major troubles in his life financially and personally. Mayor Hostetler (Russell Crowe) offers his $10,000 to find out who his wife has been cheating on him with, and in his investigation he learns dark secrets about the mayor.

The plot disguises itself behind great actors that make the story actually feel interesting, but at the end I realized what a simple minded and pointless story I had just seen. The story doesn't do any harm and I really was never bored during the film, but it just seemed like I could predict how the movie would play out and that the trailer spoils way too much of the story. I enjoy films about corruption and greed, but sadly this film uses old material that has been done many times before and it just really bugged me. However, many people are really going to enjoy this film because they most likely will not be as critical or harsh on films like this like I am. So if you are a casual movie watcher than I urge you to see this film and make your own opinion of what you think. Many critics have agreed with me that the script is the thing that holds the film down and from taking any real punches. We also have some pointless sub lots about the main protagonist and his girlfriend and a drinking problem, and they really just never take any time to make these storylines even matter. This script was written by Brian Tucker, and he is a first time writer so I can tell that we aren't dealing with somebody with any experience. The characters don't really make any strides and I never really found myself caring about any of them. This was an unmemorable story and characters, and although the script shows some interesting moments, its end result is nothing to get anxious about.

The cast has some of the biggest names in Hollywood, and in my opinion their talents are really wasted here. Mark Wahlberg is an incredible actor, he has proven this to me many times and its very rare I have seen him give a below average performance in a film. Back in 1997 when he starred in "Boogie Nights," and I could tell this great actor was going to go places, but this film isn't what I had in mind. He gives the character a lot more depth and personality than he should've had, and it's thanks to Wahlberg's great talents as an actor. He never loses focus and I always love to see him on the big screen just stealing the show, and in the future I hope to see him return to the greatness I know he has in him. Russell Crowe is fantastic and intimidating as always, and this Oscar-winner just brilliantly takes a boring character and makes him much more interesting. Crowe always brings his A-game and he and Wahlberg just bring the best scenes in the film when they are talking with each other. Catherine Zeta-Jones really just needs to make a change in her career, because performances like this make me disrespect her with each new film I see of her. She just has no real purpose in this film and her performance was laughable, so I just tried to ignore her. With the exception of Jones, this cast truly is the highlight of this movie and really is the main reason to see it.

Broken City could've been some great crime thriller with a great story with a great cast, but instead we will just have to settle with what we are given. I hate predictable movies with a passion, and Broken City is a pure example of that. I mean even from the trailer I guessed how the film would end up, but I guessed that the script would pull some strings and trick us with some big surprise ending, well it doesn't. This film is as straight forward as it looks and you won't be getting anything shocking or life changing. I wasn't hoping for a masterpiece when I saw this film, but I certainly wasn't expecting this. The main problem I had when I thought about this film is that it wasn't a bad movie, except it wasn't a good one either. I thought about how I liked the cast but how I didn't like the script, I also compared it to other crime films and it didn't measure up to those, and finally I asked myself if I liked the movies and all I could answer with was "maybe." So as you can see this film was a mixed bad for me, but I still would not recommend it to people who are hoping for a great storyline because you will not find it here. However, if you want to see Wahlberg and Crowe at the top of their game and just stealing every scene, then you should check this film out. Allen Hughes should stick to directing with his brother, because alone he just felt lazy and out of ideas. This wasn't anything new or memorable, but I was entertained from start to finish so Broken City ended up being a decent time at the movies.