Mark Wahlberg is Billy Taggart, a disgraced ex-cop turned private eye. Most of his work involves catching cheating spouses. Russell Crowe is Hostetler, the mayor of New York City. He suspects his wife is having an affair and hires Taggart to prove it before the upcoming election. If you know your detective movies, you should already know this case is about much more than marital infidelity. Broken City is chock full of classic private eye tropes. It doesn't break new ground, but it's entertaining nonetheless.

Hostetler's opponent is surname-on-the-nose Jack Valliant. The hot topic of the election is a gentrification project supported by Hostetler and opposed by Valliant. No points for guessing this will become important later.

Catherine Zeta-Jones vamps it up as Hostetler's wife. Taggart catches her in a rendezvous with Valliant's campaign manager. Case closed, until someone turns up dead. Cue the political intrigue and shady back-room shenanigans.

Oh, and Taggart's an alcoholic. Think he'll fall off the wagon? No points for this one, either.

Brian Tucker's script unabashedly follows the formula of classic PI fiction. Anyone who's read Mickey Spillane will recognize the beat. Mrs. Hostetler calls Taggart a "cut-rate dick" in a scene that could have been played by Barbara Stanwyck and Humphrey Bogart. It's borderline pastiche, but it's well-written enough to stay interesting.

The casting gets a big thumbs up. Wahlberg, Crowe, and Zeta-Jones give fine performances. Alona Tal makes for a decent Girl Friday as Taggart's assistant. Other supporting roles are filled by reliable character actors like Barry Pepper, Jeffrey Wright, Kyle Chandler, and James Ransone. Nothing career-defining, just all-around professional.

Solid direction by Allen Hughes of Hughes Brothers fame. Like the script, he doesn't break new ground, but he hits all the right notes.

For a fan of classic crime fiction like me, watching this movie was like putting on a pair of well-worn slippers. Call it Great Value Chinatown.

7 out of 10.

Seen on Tubi.