Broken City (2013)

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

Billy Taggart(Mark Wahlberg)is still stinging after being double-crossed and framed by Mayor Nicholas Hostetler(Russell Crowe). Several years after leaving the force and becoming a private detective, the mayor is the last person Taggart would be expecting a call from. The New York City mayor, not exactly a clean running political machine, needs a favor and knows of Taggart's deliberate and rough way of getting information. Hostetler strongly suspects his wife Cathlene(Catherine Zeta-Jones)of having an affair and he wants to know who the guy is. When in short order the lover turns up dead; Taggart learns that the mayor is in the middle of some very lucrative and shady real estate dealings. And consequently, is also no a model husband. Cathlene is not apposed of bringing her husband down.Wahlberg, as he usually is, doing his rough and tougher than nails thing. Crowe is commanding, demanding and down right mean. The drop dead gorgeous Zeta-Jones has no problems being cold as ice.Rounding out the cast: Barry Pepper, Alona Tal, Kyle Chandler, Natalie Martinez, Jeffrey Wright and Michael Beach.

Broken City is a decent movie with an average storyline and a good cast that sadly don't deliver as well as they could have.The film lacks any bit of originality to make it enjoyable, it follows a very safe and formulaic story,which makes it very underwhelming as basically every move the characters make is predictable.I felt like it could have been better if the actors put more energy in to their performances,no one really seemed that interested,as far as I know,Mark Wahlberg only wanted to produce this film and didn't want to play this character,and it really shows in his acting,Russell Crowe was the only person that seemed to be really enjoying his role and getting sucked in to the character. Predictable and fairly boring,Broken City has its moments and its certainly not an awful movie,but it simply isn't interesting enough to recommend. A struggling private eye accepts a lucrative job from New York's mayor.Best Performance: Russell Crowe Worst Performance: Barry Pepper

"Broken City" from 2013 has some big names: Russell Crowe, Mark Wahlberg, and Catherine Zeta-Jones doing a predictable script that is beneath them.The story concerns an on-the-wagon alcoholic ex-cop, Billy Taggert. Up on charges for a nighttime shooting, the Mayor (Russell Crowe) is aware of new evidence and has him fired. Seven years later, Taggert is working as a detective, getting evidence for divorce cases when the Mayor summons him. He wants Taggert to find out who is sleeping with his wife (Jones) and bring him photos. He tells Taggert that he's afraid his opponent in the upcoming mayoral election, Jack Valiant (Barry Pepper) would use this against him if it's found out. With a lot of clients owing him money, Taggert accepts a $25,000 down payment from him.He tails the Mayor's wife and discovers that she's seeing Paul Andrews (Kyle Chandler) the opponent's campaign manager. After reporting this to the Mayor, Andrews winds up dead.First of all, you know who the murder victim is immediately because of the casting (I think). And a good part of the plot is given away when Taggert and Andrews meet on the subway (again, that's what I think, though evidently Taggert didn't figure it out).A subplot concerns Taggert's relationship with his girlfriend (Natalie Barrow), an actress who is making her debut in an independent film. Once the audience becomes aware of what's going on in the movie, we can pretty much see what will happen with this couple.All in all, "Broken City" has some good performances, particularly from Russell Crowe and Alona Tai, who plays Taggert's assistant, but it has no punch. It's a dark movie with an old plot that the screenwriter has attempted to make more modern. Done right, it would have packed a wallop. It doesn't, but if you're looking for something from Netflix, for instance, you might like it.