Broken City

This mundane political thriller pivots around a dense web of criminal conspiracies enveloping longtime incumbent New York City Mayor Nicholas Hostetler (Russell Crowe), who is vying for re-election with younger, richer Councilman Jack Valliant (Barry Pepper). After being forced to take a fall seven years ago for gunning down an exonerated rapist/gang member, former NYPD detective Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg) opened his own private investigation agency in Brooklyn. But he's often strapped for money, which is why he accepts $50,000 in cash from Hostetler to spy on his wife, Cathleen (Catherine Zeta-Jones), whom the blustering mayor suspects of adultery. The plot thickens when Taggart concludes that Cathleen is involved with Paul Andrews (Kyle Chandler), campaign manager for Valliant. But the case turns out to be far more convoluted since there is also a clandestine subplot revolving around a multi-billion-dollar deal to level Bolton Village, a public housing project—and Taggart is being used as a pawn. Adding to the complications are the police commissioner (Jeffrey Wright) and Taggart's aspiring-actress girlfriend (Natalie Martinez), whose family lives in Bolton Village. Unfortunately, these are all caricatures, not characters. The first feature that Allen Hughes has directed without his twin brother Albert, Broken City is a disappointing neo-noir. Optional, at best. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the behind-the-scenes featurettes “A ‘Black List' Script” and “Anatomy of a Thriller.” Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are “Putting It All Together” behind-the-scenes featurettes (35 min. total, including the two previously mentioned), deleted scenes with an alternate ending (9 min.), trailers, and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for an unremarkable film.] (S. Granger)