Broken City, starring Mark Wahlberg, has been shoved into the highly unpopular January release slot, and it isn’t hard to see why.

Though it has all the potential to be good – a moderately interesting storyline, a solid cast – let’s not forget that Wahlberg’s last big release was the Seth McFarlane flick Ted, and that was received very well by critics and fans alike. But despite being good “on paper”, Broken City falls flat eventually. According to most reviewers, the biggest problem with this film is its ambition. The plot, albeit intriguing, is too complex to fit well into the under two-hour time frame, and it all rings just a bit shallow.

The story of an ex-cop, turned private investigator Billy Taggart, with all of its subplots and character moments could have been a compelling one, had it not been for most of those subplots being cut short and thus, rendered inexplicable. This way, without understanding the characters’ motivation, it all seems a bit rushed and shallow. Then again, it has Catherine Zeta-Jones and Russel Crowe in it, so it might be worth a watch, even just for the beautiful people on screen. However, if you’re only going to see one film this January, it probably shouldn’t be this one.