The few things that get me interested in a movie are either one of these points or a combination: a) Stellar cast of actors, b) Acclaimed director, c) Part of a hit movie franchise, d) Riveting trailer, e) Created from some known book/novel... well alright, it appears a lot of things get me interested in a movie. What got Broken City to my attention was definitely the casting. Now January is a tricky month to watch movies for it seems like a testing phase for studios to kick off the year, with usually lower budget movies hitting the theatres and earnings of $100 million rare. But Mark Whalberg had seen success in January of last year with Contraband which was another action / crime thriller, and Broken City falling in a similar kind of genre, I was up for it. Add the presence of Russell Crowe and Catherine Zeta-Jones (am seeing her after such a long time, having not watched the duds she was a part of in 2012), and there was a twinkle in my eyes when I took the seat to watch this flick.
The twinkle however disappeared soon enough. Broken City starts off with an interesting first shot -- a bearded Wahlberg with a gun in his hand standing atop a dead guy. The initial pace of the film seems fine, giving the impression that things would heat up soon. Alas, the increase in intensity of the film comes in bits and pieces and leaves much to be desired. As the plot tried to 'thicken' with Wahlberg pursuing the reason why Russell Crowe, the mayor of New York city, wanted his wife, the ever so remarkable Catherine Zeta-Jones, to be followed and investigated, I was by then left a bit dulled out already, so that the key 'ooohhh' moments barely caused me to twitch. The reason you still watch it from the beginning to the end is largely because of Wahlberg who is perfect in his role, as an ex-cop turned private eye. He is best in such roles demanding him to keep a furrowed forehead and this was another example. Catherine Zeta-Jones sadly has limited screen time, though a fine and graceful actress she is.
Russell Crowe plays the tough mayor, keen on winning the re-election, and his performance kind of let me down. Now Crowe is a class act on his day and I could keep you all night talking about the range of amazing performances he has displayed throughout his career. Broken City would however not be discussed in the same breath; it better be forgotten soon. The screenplay also seemed too straight forward and underdeveloped at times that probably limited what Crowe could have done with his role. And if you were to compare his role with that of George Clooney's somewhat similar tough politician act in The Ides of March, you will understand my disappointment with Crowe. Amidst all this, some of the best moments of the movie surprisingly stemmed whenever Wahlberg's character's assistant, Katy Bradshaw played by Alona Tal, came onto the screen. The fans of Supernatural series would remember her as the demon hunter, Jo Harvelle, and as I looked up her profile, she appears to have been involved with number of TV series, the latest being Cult. Alona had some of the snappiest lines in Broken City and she seemed to energise what was otherwise a rather tepid movie. A silver lining was found after all...
Up next, The Last Stand.
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