The first trailer for director Allen Hughes’ (The Book of Eli) political thriller Broken City has been released.  Mark Wahlberg stars as a private detective who is hired to identify the lover of a powerful politician’s wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones).  Russell Crowe plays the morally ambiguous politician with plenty of gusto, and there look to be some fun scenes where Crowe and Wahlberg go toe-to-toe.  The soundtrack on the trailer is a bit distracting and the January release date isn’t super promising, but this could be a nice little thriller with some interesting performances.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Jeffrey Wright.  Broken City opens on January 18th.

Click over to Apple to watch in HD.

Here’s the synopsis for Broken City:

In a broken city rife with injustice, ex-cop Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg) seeks redemption--and revenge--after being double-crossed and then framed by its most powerful figure, the mayor (Russell Crowe). Billy's relentless pursuit of justice, matched only by his streetwise toughness, makes him an unstoppable force--and the mayor's worst nightmare.