If you're in need of a Russell Crowe palette cleanser (and really, who isn't?), Broken City will do. It's the first time flying solo for director Allen Hughes (who, with his brother Albert, has helmed such gems as From Hell and Menace II Society), as well as the first time out for screenwriter Brian Tucker, so it's perhaps unsurprising that Broken City takes few risks and breaks no ground. It is, however, a proficient, well-acted, and entertaining exercise in noir crime drama, which is a shrewd, crowd-pleasing strategy for a couple of guys who have something to prove, yet enough Hollywood cred to command performances from Crowe, along with Mark Wahlberg and Catherine Zeta-Jones. by Marjorie Skinner