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Broken City

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, and Catherine Zeta-Jones
Directed by: Allen Hughes
Screenplay by: Brian Tucker

There's really only one city where this kind of story could actually be real, New York.
     Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg) is a disgraced NYPD officer who loses his job because of a case that he's involved in that somewhat resembles the Trayvon Martin case in Florida from 2012.  But Mayor Hostetler (Russell Crowe) thinks Billy is a hero.  Seven years later, the mayor calls on Taggart to investigate his wife whom he thinks is having an affair.  It's pretty risky because the mayoral election is only a few days away and his campaign could be in for some trouble.  So, for a small reward, Taggart investigates the mayor's wife, but is it just an affair?  Or is it something more serious and could it damage Hostetler's chances of re-election?
      This is the kind of movie that's just mindless entertainment for almost two hours.  It's filled with suspense, even though it doesn't necessarily keep you on the edge of your seat.  It's full of twists and deception.  It's a good movie if you like characterization and well developed characters.  You have to do some reading between the lines in order to really understand who these people are and if they can actually be trusted.  And it's a good demonstration of the kind of corruption we don't want to see a city suffer from anymore.
       All the actors deliver decent performances, but not totally incredible ones.  Russell Crowe makes a better mayor of New York than Javert in Les Miserables.  Mark Wahlber plays a very similar role in this film as in many of his other films, and no surprise here, he delivers a similar performance.  He's the good guy who's pretty tough and you wouldn't want to mess with him.
      Overall, this is a movie that's good for eating tons of popcorn while watching it.  This isn't a totally fantastic movie, but it's not a terrible movie either.  If you're planning to go to the theater anytime soon and you want a recommendation, this is probably not your best option these days.  So I'd recommend renting this film when it comes out on DVD.
I give Broken City a B-.

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