Broken City (2013)

Best movie of this year hands down!

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

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.

There's really only one reason you'll sit through Broken City: to watch three good-looking people up on the big screen. It's always a more enjoyable movie when the stars are pretty to look at, isn't it? In this one, Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, and Catherine Zeta-Jones headline, but it's really only Catherine who looks particularly pretty. Russell has a strange hairdo and Mark just looks tired.Ex-cop Mark is a private detective, and Russell, the mayor of New York City calls in a favor. He's up for re-election, and he thinks his wife Catherine is cheating on him. To pre-empt the tabloids and opposition team, he asks Mark to spy on her and find evidence. But there's much more than meets the eye. . .To be honest, there's a lot more than meets the eye, and it's called a handheld camera. I went to see this movie with my mom, who suffers from vertigo, and the film was so devastating to her health, it took her over two years to fully recover. The camera is nearly constantly moving, turning, and swerving, and there are several scenes with strobing police lights, so if you suffer from the same ailment, stay very far away from this movie.As far as "dirty politician double-crosses the average Joe" movies go, Broken City isn't above average. It's pretty predictable and will only really appeal to fans of the cast. Young, impressionable girls who want to drool over Mark Wahlberg and young, impressionable boys who want to drool over Catherine Zeta-Jones will probably be the happiest audience members. Rent it, you youngsters, for a fun date night!DLM warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie is not your friend. It's exclusively filmed with a handheld, active camera, and there are several scenes with strobing police lights. It will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

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

Is Broken City going to blow your mind away with something new and unexpected? Is Broken City the most original thriller you'll ever see? The answer to both of these questions is no, but don't worry because not all hope is lost. This film manages to be an interesting, half-entertaining thriller that pays thoughtful tribute to the period from the 1930's to 1950's when noir films were the most prevalent. This isn't the best thriller out there, but it certainly gets it's job done.Allen Hughes directs a film about how corruption and injustice is prevalent in politics. After ex-cop now turned private detective Billy Taggert is set up and framed by none other than the mayor himself, Billy goes out for some tasteful revenge.This film has a very good cast, better than one would expect for a January thriller. They won't blow you away, but they manage to be respectable. Mark Wahlberg brings some life to the role of Taggert. Russell Crowe does a good job as the mayor. Catherine Zeta-Jones does a good job and I could have used some more scenes with her.Overall, Broken City is a solid thriller that has some tricks up it's sleeves. This film definitely reminds me of noir films of old because of the way it was filmed. Most of the film is in darkness and shadows and I can appreciate that. The script is average at best, but good acting tries to make up for that. There's nothing new here, but at least it makes for an interesting film experience. I rate this film 8/10.