The upcoming crime thriller BROKEN CITY, starring Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, and Catherine Zeta-Jones is on its way to theaters and today we have three clips to dive into. The film comes from the Allen Hughes, the second part of the Albert and Allen Hughes filmmaking duo behind DEAD PRESIDENTS and BOOK OF ELI. Judging from the trailer and these new clips, it seems that Hughes is toning down the ultraviolence and hyper-style of his previous films to tell a straight crime story, which is admirable, but I find that I’m missing the flash of his other work. Obviously, you want to fit the material to the style, but I think some calculated aesthetic risks could pay off here.
From the looks of it, BROKEN CITY will be a scene-chewing thriller with some mildly entertaining action, but nothing of the caliber of something like THE DEPARTED, a film where Wahlberg was a blast to watch. Still, BROKEN CITY looks fun and I look forward to catching it in the future. On video.
Check out the clips:
BROKEN CITY opens on January 18, 2013.