City of Lies | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

51% Tomatometer 49 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings

Based on the book, LAByrinth, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Randall Sullivan, this compelling crime-thriller follows the investigation into the infamous murder of iconic rap artist Christopher Wallace aka The Notorious B.I.G. Oscar® nominee Johnny Depp stars as determined LAPD detective Russell Poole, who spent nearly 20 years trying to solve the murder, and Oscar® and Primetime Emmy® winner Forest Whitaker as Jack Jackson, a journalist who teams up with Poole in search of the elusive truth. Together they explore why the case remains cold -- and why a secret division of the LAPD is seemingly set on keeping it that way.

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City of Lies

Critics Reviews

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City of Lies | Rotten Tomatoes (1) David Ehrlich indieWire Furman's movie lacks the craft or the confidence to address the unresolved questions of institutional cancer. Rated: C- Mar 30, 2021 Full Review City of Lies | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Matthew Monagle Austin Chronicle City of Lies is more James Ellroy than docudrama, resulting in a tired police thriller that hitched its wagon to an untenable star. Rated: 2/5 Mar 25, 2021 Full Review City of Lies | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Adam Graham Detroit News As a thriller, it never quite reaches its boiling point, which may be one reason it's been sitting on the shelf since 2018. But as the portrait of a man obsessed and the forces stacked up against him, it earns its stripes. Rated: B- Mar 23, 2021 Full Review City of Lies | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Lisa Nesselson France24 A complex tale about a still-unsolved homicide. Sep 21, 2021 Full Review City of Lies | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Steven Warner In Review Online [City of Lies has] a deeply trite message, to be sure, but in our current world of falsehood, perhaps not a bad one to rehash. Jun 6, 2021 Full Review City of Lies | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Robert Denerstein Denerstein Unleashed Overall, City of Lies seems more intent on wallowing in LA grit than in finding a powerful through-line for its two stars and the large cast that surrounds them. Apr 16, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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David Benjamin Judah Riveting from beginning to end. Eye opening to the corruption of people in power and authority. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/10/21 Full Review SParris22 This movie was everything. Amazing from start to finish Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/09/21 Full Review Tracy I really liked the movie! Its good to see Johnny Depp on the screen again. Movie is more of a documentary about the cold case and the detective investigating it. There was a lot of information that was never released to the public. This movie really got into the back story of a police coverup. Very interesting. It is rated R, but was pretty mild other than language. Im glad I saw the movie. Everyone should see it to know more about what really happened. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/21 Full Review Vegas Vision I sat through this film in an empty theater - except for myself. The theme has been done and done again - another film blues vs. rap..in this case the blues are the police, the raps are the rapppers and the two do not have a common ground twenty plus years ago. It was a 'shaky' film, flashbacking to 1997 and forward in time - the murder of Tupac Shakur was not the focus - and it should have been - the other murder, that of Biggie Smalls was the focus and it did not have the same impact as the veiled rub out of Tupac. Most was set in the downtrodden areas of LA, while Tupac's murder was as a visitor to Las Vegas, which would have given this film some extra cinemagraphic fodder for the film. The enraged road rage at the beginning, has been used in other films recently. The actors were sufficient but nothing outstanding - I sat through but the last ten minutes as it dragged on - the pacing was off and the scenery and dialogue were predictable. This is not a highly recommended film - it is a statement film that should have been done ten years ago. I do love documentaries or mockumentaries, and this one just does not make the list..I did give it 2.5 stars for its message - and also seeing that all lives matter - the corruption that occurred should never have happened - and could have been in a tighter formatted film, made to be a very good one. It is 25 years almost (24 to be exact) since these crimes occurred and as I said before - should have been focusing more on the good cop versus the bad cop in the City of Lies. Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/21 Full Review john w Wouldve loved it but for 2 adults talking through the entire movie, so we got a refund to finish it later. After waiting so long to get back to a theater we find some people just wanted to get back it to ruin the experience. They should be barred for life. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/21 Full Review Lawrence O Actors did a decent job portraying LAPD characters. Otherwise it was a boring story which was hard to follow most of the movie. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/21 Full Review Read all reviews

City of Lies

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Cast & Crew

Brad Furman Director Johnny Depp Russell Poole Forest Whitaker Jack Jackson Rockmond Dunbar Dreadlocks Neil Brown Jr. Rafael Perez Xander Berkeley Edwards
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City of Lies

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City of Lies

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Synopsis Based on the book, LAByrinth, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Randall Sullivan, this compelling crime-thriller follows the investigation into the infamous murder of iconic rap artist Christopher Wallace aka The Notorious B.I.G. Oscar® nominee Johnny Depp stars as determined LAPD detective Russell Poole, who spent nearly 20 years trying to solve the murder, and Oscar® and Primetime Emmy® winner Forest Whitaker as Jack Jackson, a journalist who teams up with Poole in search of the elusive truth. Together they explore why the case remains cold -- and why a secret division of the LAPD is seemingly set on keeping it that way.

Director
Brad Furman

Producer
Miriam Segal, Stuart Manashil, Paul Brennan

Screenwriter
Christian Contreras

Distributor
Saban Films

Production Co
Global Road Entertainment, Good Films

Rating
R (Language Throughout|Drug Use|Some Violence)

Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 19, 2021, Wide

Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 9, 2021

Box Office (Gross USA)
$565.7K

Runtime
1h 54m

Sound Mix
Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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