Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

****Spoilers***Spoilers*****Don't Bother Watching This Movie!!!First of all there was absolutely no reason for this to be a period piece so why bother? The listening device wasn't anything like they had in 1988 and I'm sure there were other things that didn't exist back then. Next thing is that this just wasn't a very good story. The main plot twist hinged on nothing. The Russians try to kill a cop and the very next day they talk to someone they barely know about it and then they ask him if he wants to go see their drug stash house. Really? And then he's made some sort of cop and then he has a gun? Is it me or is that just stupid? The longer you watch it the stupider it gets.This deserves one star because it wasted the potential of everyone involved. What terrible writing! Epically bad and contrived and there wasn't a decent action scene in the entire film.

James Gray makes good movies. This is his best so far. We own The Night is a solid, almost flawless actioner, steered by wonderful performances, where Wahlberg and Phoenix reunite. Phoenix is always electrifying to watch, a very naturalistic professional, though on the end of that coin, notably Wahlberg deserves recognition here. Every performance is good, no exceptions, in a movie I enjoy the more I see it. Phoenix, the only one of family who isn't a cop, which kind of makes him an outsider, is a nightclub owner, running a front for drug related mafia dealings. When Phoenix's club is raided by his own blood, brother cop (Wahlberg) and Father cop (Duvall, who you pretty much know won't be around for the finale) this propels the story into scary situations, involving forced choices, where you can truly see the picture, from Phoenix's point of view, taken on a revenge path, when a hit is made on Wahlberg, by a Russian figure. The new dope runner, a real scummy, Russian dope dealer, looks the part, and is not to be taken as a fool, where if so, it's a grave mistake on your part. One of the scariest type of seen. Phoenix making a 180 degree career change, which is what I liked about this cop drama, that sets it apart from a lot of others. Real involving stuff, and that car chase was frighteningly intense. WOTN never loses it's intensity, thanks to it's well structured and exciting plot. A real fine drama, and a must see, only I would of really liked to see Phoenix, give it more to that badarse near the end.

This film drags. After a few fits and starts when you hope if finally gets going, another dull, irrelevant scene that could have been left on the cutting room floor sucks you back down. Donny Wahlberg barely gets a supporting role. Joaquin shines enough you want to suffer to see it through. But the way the action goes down is SOOO unlikely, you wonder who the heck was advising the writers and director. They've obviously never worked a club or scored on a connect. And by the end, all the characters just fall flat.The first scene is the bomb. You can catch that on Youtube and save the next two hours for something worthy.

We Own the Night is a gritty cop drama featuring top-notch performances by Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix as two brothers on different sides of the law. This is not the best cop film, but it is very entertaining. This movie was made for pure pleasure and it delivers big on that statement.This film is about Bobby Green who is a nightclub owner that deals with drugs. His brother and father are both Captain and Chief of the NYPD. Now Green must save his family from Russian hit men before they get exposed.As I said previously, Wahlberg and Phoenix delivered top-notch performances. Eva Mendes of course is smoking hot and Robert Duvall still has his acting mojo as he gets older.Overall, this is a great cop film dealing with 1980's NYC crime. I would definitely give this film a chance. I rate this film 9/10.