"The Yards" tells of corruption in the New York commuter transit maintenance contract awards system. An attempt to vandalize trains to thwart a competitive bidder goes wrong and a metro worker is killed. Thus begins this plodding saga which showcases some excellent young and not-so-young actors. Although the film is technically well crafted and artistically okay, the sepia, subdued and oblique lighting, and underexposures are obvious and reminiscent of the Godfather series. The actors spend most of their time talking under their breath with deadpan, emotionless expressions, all designed to create a sense of importance about what is, by cinematic standards, a feeble story. To make matters worse, our hero, a putz played by Wahlberg, is an excon who gets out of jail and immediately gets into trouble again. His only redeeming quality seems to be he loves his mother; and we're supposed to be rooting for him?? This mildly entertaining flick's biggest flaw is the absence of any reason for the audience to care about any of the characters. The film is left open at the end with many lingering question marks. An ok flick, but over-rated.
