Broken City

“Broken City” is certainly Mark Wahlberg’s movie. He is a New York City ex-cop turned investigator, hired by the Mayor (Russell Crowe) who suspects his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is cheating on him. What complicates the situation is that the mayoral election is only a week away, and the Mayor is embroiled in a very tough campaign. Among the twists and turns of the plot, Wahlberg’s character discovers that several people and situations are not what he first believed them to be. He also discovers that his employer, the Mayor, has some pretty shady business dealings going on and is murderously ruthless in his re-election bid.

It sounds like a delicious political thriller, rife with nail-biting suspense, doesn’t it?

So, here’s the downside—this film has it all: adultery, explicit sex, nudity, murder, excessive amounts of liquor, and an uncountable number of crude and profane words. I stopped counting the “F” words, because I left my calculator at home, and I couldn’t keep up. The film’s atmosphere is thick and oppressive with profanity, and every other crude anatomical reference in the English language. It’s really quite sad. This could have been an interesting story, fun to watch, as Taggart follows the maze that ultimately leads to the political mess created by the shiftless mayor. It could have easily carried a PG-13 rating that would surely draw in a larger audience and more revenue for the studio.

Unfortunately, the producers took the low road and made this movie profane and common, choosing instead to foul the theater with filth, rather than deftly present art to entertain an audience. So now the “F” word has become a noun, verb, adverb, and adjective—virtually every part of speech—and all of it is dumped into your head by unimaginative producers and a talentless director who can only serve up a tasteless soup of profane swill rather than a plain ole’ good story.

The acting skills of Crowe and Wahlberg and the beauty of Zeta-Jones are wasted on this mess. They really should be much more particular about scripts, so as not to be dragged down by bad writing, excessive profanity, and tawdry talent trashing.

As a Christian, I reiterate that it is imperative that you realize this movie does not deserve your ten bucks, as it breaks all Ten Commandments, while you support it with your attendance. If your 13 year-old asks for money to see this movie, be a really good parent and firmly reply, “Not on your life, Buster. We have higher standards than that!”

Violence: Moderate / Profanity: Extreme / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.