Ah, January movies. Every now and then there is a great one — at least I want to believe that. This isn’t it. Of course, like any movie, “Broken City” could have been amazing.
Unfortunately, the director set out to make a completely different movie than he was given in the screenplay and it ends up being a mess. It’s a shame too, because it’s a waste of a concept that’s not done right enough as well as a great cast.
“Broken City” stars Mark Wahlberg as New York City cop, Billy Taggart, who are are introduced to as he is standing over a dead body, smoking gun in hand. The body is that of an accused rapist, who was acquitted of the charges. Taggart is accused of killing the victim in cold blood and the people want him to pay for his crime. After all, not even a cop can get away with murder. Billy is a good cop, with good intentions and Mayor Nicholas Hostelter sees this. When a video tape emerges, evidence of Billy’s cold-blooded killing, the Mayor and the Chief of Police (Jeffrey Wright) make it disappear, knowing that the city is better off with the victim deceased.
Seven years later, Billy is working has a private investigator. Life is okay for the guy, work is steady and a girlfriend who is an actress and about to star in a highly anticipated independent movie, which is expected to make her a pretty big deal. But, Billy spends most of his time investigating cheating spouses and not getting paid, because he’s just too nice of a guy to ask for money up front. Just when things get bleak, Mayor Hostelter shows up, offering fifty grand if Billy can find out who Mrs. Mayor Hostetler (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is sleeping with. His investigation leads to a conspiracy to buy up a crappy neighborhood involving the opposing Mayoral candidate (Barry Pepper), a Human Rights movement and a few other things that are just shoehorned in to make it seem like there is a lot going on.
Allen Hughes of Hughes Brothers fame (“Dead Presidents”, “From Hell”) and first time screenwriter Brian Tucker just never seemed to be on the same page. Tucker’s script plays out like a old noir detective caper. It could have been a Phillip Marlowe movie or this generation’s “Chinatown” — not saying the script was that quality but it definitely could have been a throwback to that classic style of filmmaking.
“Broken City” is a forgettable movie that will only remind you of better movies. The great cast may convince you for a while that what you’re watching is a top notch crime thriller, but after a while you’ll realize you’re not sure which cluse you’re supposed to be paying attention to. Don’t be fooled. It’s a mess from start to finish.
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“Broken City” theatrical trailer: