Broken City

Barry Pepper looks like an actual corpse. The movie plays like one.

Like someone kept the vague outline but domesticated away most of the content of James Ellroy, and then someone else was hired to make the resulting script more conventionally generic, and someone else to make it less 'grittily noir', but tiny fragments of violent excess survived in Wahlberg's character for no real reason if you look really hard. Jeffrey Wright, an excellent actor, has little to do despite giving the mayor his comeuppance in the form of some inter-racial cuckolding. Take that.

One of those movies that's plenty watchable enough while it's on, but you immediately forget about afterward. Nice supporting turn from Kyle Chandler.

A passable yet completely forgettable thriller that is competently enough made to pass the time. Nothing stands out (either good or bad) except the furrowed brow of Mark Wahlberg.

watchable

Two things stood out to me after the completion of this film, and they were both bad: One was a camera that wouldn't stop moving around during a simple scene of dialogue; the other was an atrocious slow-motion look-back/wave to end the film. Besides a decent investigative first act, everything else was just average and forgettable-disappointing considering the delicious corruption drama at hand. Extended tangents certainly didn't help (see Natalie's film and after-party; the televised debate).

Workman-like film in which nobody dazzles. Not unpleasant, but generic, and probably for Mark Wahlberg or Russell Crowe completionists only.

A corruption thriller headlined by Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe, that is pretty typical as far as the plot is concerned. Still engaging and exciting, Broken City has excellent actors playing small bit parts that help enhance the overall experience. We have seen this film before, but it was still entertaining.

This really needed to be more or less lurid and melodramatic to succeed – Crowe and Zeta-Jones come off best, while clearly skidding into “more lurid”, but unfortunately Tucker’s screenplay seems to want to be a more respectable, tightly plotted thriller, which makes the melodramatic stuff seem silly by comparison. Story threads and characters that pan out to nothing don’t help (why is Martinez even here?). Some sparky, noirish dialogue here and there give the film a wan dose of energy.

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(Viewed in 2013): It amazes me that anyone, anywhere, in 2012, thought this film was worth making. It's especially surprising that Hughes was attracted to the project, which is a far cry from his early work that brimmed with passion and intensity. Broken City is the epitome of generic, a mechanical and workmanlike film about corrupt authority figures and the people who chase them. Wahlberg simply goes through the motions, and while Crowe fares slightly better, his role is poorly written.

Plays like a 80's thriller and works well.

The performances for the most part are good in this film. The script however could use some work. There are far to many boring moments and scenes that do not go any place. Overall this film is disappointing.

I can say it was competently made but not much else. The story is so generic it would have been better served as the plot for an episode of a tv show.

Rather boring.

passable if all you're looking for is something to while away a dull afternoon when you're off sick (now there's something you never read on film posters). Find myself so conditioned to expect a twist in a film that when it doesnt come I feel a bit bewildered

52.000

7- recommended, good

As others have said this is an averagish thriller, it feels so watered down and generic that the plot essential becomes irrelevant.

The first hour: one of the most boring movies I have ever seen; I expected a twist where Wahlberg's wife and Crowe's wife were having an affair (Spoiler: I wasn't that off). Then the plot "thickened" kinda nicely; but it was a bit late to save the movie. Deep inside it has the material to be a good movie but it was just not put together well.

Well, sure.

Broken City is a political thriller with no twists (yes, I watched to the end, and no, that wasn't a twist). A political thriller with no twists is like Russel Crowe sans subligar is like Mark Whalberg sans funky bunch.

Not good. Broken City had a fine set-up cast, but overall, this movie had a few dumb lines and for the most part can't concentrate on one spot in it's screenplay.

Moderately entertaining thriller about dirty local politicians. Gets a bit convoluted but Marky Mark's performance really elevates the film. Barry Pepper is great too.

Actually a very watchable noir-ish type thriller. It's a shame so many of the characters feel so one-dimensional as with the cast on offer there was real potential here. If anything "Broken City" lacks opulence, sultriness , atmosphere, and if Hughes had been willing to take more risks (or simply be more talented!) it could have been something much more. Crowe is great in this though, spray tanned and bleached to within an inch of his life and clearly having fun.

It should have been a great film, but it was a mess from start to finish.

Initially I dug the late 80's/early 90's feel to this movie: quick-hit scenes that don't dump too much story on you, just background info and character intros. Story takes about 20 minutes to start unfolding, and when it does it seems like a fairly cut-and-dry detective story that could serve as an okay way to spend a few minutes. There's good and bad. The political stuff doesn't bog me down, and when the real story is finally swung on us it definitely improves. It's convention done decently.

Despite my happiness that Alona Tal made it into a big time movie, I wasn't incredibly happy with this film. I felt like it just had some pacing issues, everything went by so slowly. They also threw away Mark Wahlberg's girlfriend's character pretty quickly that you forget he even had her by the end. Russell Crowe played a wonderful sketchy Mayor. There are just better thrillers out there. I did like the fusion of Political Thriller and a P.I. detective story.

1020: not bad. i like the idea.

"Allen Hughes may suggest an air of pretty menace, but he does little to make the sequence work as a legible genre scene." - Andrew Schenker

I must say it's quite ok, with a plot and story. It's not just running around and shooting. In one word watchable.

Terribly flawed but I am a Wahlberg fan.

Cliche, and defunct of any unique personality, outside of Russell Crowe having a little bit of fun as the stereotypical corrupt politician. Stupid subplots and an ending that is anticlimactic and pretty useless. Poor effort.