Broken City (2013)

	Directed by: Allen Hughes	COUNTRY USA GENRE Action/Drama NORWEGIAN TITLE Harde tider RUNNING TIME 93 minutes
	Produced by: Randall Emmett Mark Wahlberg Stephen Levinson Arnon Milchan Teddy Schwarzman Allen Hughes Remington Chase
	Written by: Brian Tucker

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Billy Taggart	Mark Wahlberg	½
Mayor Nicholas Hostetler	Russell Crowe
Cathleen Hostetler	Catherine Zeta-Jones
Carl Fairbanks	Jeffrey Wright
Jack Valliant	Barry Pepper	½
Katy Bradshaw	Alona Tal	½
Natalie Barrow	Natalie Martinez
Tony Jansen	Michael Beach
Paul Andrews	Kyle Chandler	½
Todd Lancaster	James Ransone	½
Sam Lancaster	Griffin Dunne	½

Review

Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe battle wits and courage in this political thriller about corruption and power struggle set in a version of New York City which probably will seem too gritty and somewhat anachronistic, as director Allen Hughes (in his first film without brother Albert) aims to create a noirish film filled with the right combination of love, action and suspense. And while he makes the film look good and unfold at an agreeable pace, the problem is that the script is simply too formulaic and cluttered. The romantic subplots are underdeveloped, the story, with all its thinly motivated twists and turns, seems to simply appear more than develop, and Crowe's character is disappointingly stereotypical. Thanks to a fine cast, Broken City may work usefully if you're willing to turn off your critical sense for a couple of hours.