Broken City

A surprisingly well-structured story. It's a criminal heist premise where a gang of 3 thieves (with a 4th 'inside woman' acting as babysitter) rob wealthy households of jewelry and belongings. When they enter the home of a big mark businessman (and his loopy girlfriend who is half his age) , complications make it take longer than expected, tempers flare, and things come to a head. Standout performances from Ria Gill as Maya and Ronnie Angel (former pro wrestler in real life) as Andy. Script by Jonathan Smith shows solid understanding of storytelling for movies. Score by Peter Howard works best during thrilling passages. Def check it out.

When I first started watching this film, I did not expect the suspenseful, twisty-turny direction it was going to take! I was on the edge of my seat, holding my breath with shockers taking my breath away. Now I can breathe and say wow, that was intense and cool! Even though there were moments where I could tell things weren't perfect, they were few and far between and didn't take away from the story and intrigue. The casting and acting performances were good overall and the characters and their dialogue were pretty believable. I ended up feeling for a lot of the characters. If you like suspense, the crime/heist genre, and you're okay with some violence then I recommend watching this film.

Terry Spears' Broken City is a topical tale of Maya and Desmond who in need of money, attempt to steal from the wealthy with the help of the more nefarious-minded, Andy. The blend of social justice issues with the more thrilling elements, make it an unique crime drama. Watching the slippery slope as our righteous heroes (both people of color) fall deeper into a tangle of amorality, ill-minded attempts to reset the scales of justice with their mostly white victims.

Ria Gill was a standout performance and the direction and writing by Jonathon M. Smith and Terry Spears keeps things moving. Worth a watch!

Broken City (2023), directed by Terry Spears, is a fairly engaging low budget crime thriller. The plot and its events are pretty unique. The camera work and styling of the film is raw, which I think works in its favor. However, with most low budget films it has its constraints and downfalls. For me, that was the acting, music, set design (or lack thereof), and at times the continuity. Those were the noticeable elements that took me out of the experience.

I really liked how unpredictable the story was though. If you are looking for something different; a unique indie crime thriller with grit, this may just be the one for you.

Strong, psychological thriller with totally unexpected twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Emotional and scarry. You'll never guess what's coming up next. And the ending gave me chills. I loved the work of Ria Gill, Jonathon M. Smith, Ronnie Angel, and the whole cast were also wonderful. Throughout the movie I caught myself guessing and trying to predict what was going to happen next, and to my surprise I was constantly wrong. I could never anticipate the next twist in the development of the story. The tension and the emotions were building up all away until the last minute and the resolve was absolutely unforeseeable.