This movie is a mess. It's an entertaining mess but a mess nonetheless. Besides taking no time to introduce or make us care about any of the characters, the overall plot and concept are simply ludicrous and that's putting it mildly. What transpires a week leading to the election for mayor of New York is so outrageous and nonsensical that it deflates this movie right to its core. Character actions make no sense at all and the movie tries to turn on a dime in a few places to seem clever or deliver some sort of arc but it all plays out as lazy writing and development.
SPOILER: The mayor's wife Cathleen Hostetler (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is written the worst of all and when you think about it, her involvement and the motivation of others to include her makes no sense at all. It's not a plot hole, it's just too silly for reality or for entertainment in this case. You have to have a plot that makes sense in the first place for there to have plot holes or flaws. Crowe phoned in the bad guy mayor role because I believe that he had to. There's nothing there to work with as an actor, even one as good as Russell.
Overall, the writing and character beats are atrocious just like Wahlberg's last early year release Contraband.
SPOILER: The mayor's wife Cathleen Hostetler (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is written the worst of all and when you think about it, her involvement and the motivation of others to include her makes no sense at all. It's not a plot hole, it's just too silly for reality or for entertainment in this case. You have to have a plot that makes sense in the first place for there to have plot holes or flaws. Crowe phoned in the bad guy mayor role because I believe that he had to. There's nothing there to work with as an actor, even one as good as Russell.
Overall, the writing and character beats are atrocious just like Wahlberg's last early year release Contraband.