A strong cast and not much else.

From the beginning the movie did a great job making me sympethetic to Leo. However; as the movie was nearing the end, I felt more sorry for Frank, rather than Leo. The main character Leo is an astonishing dumbass, I don't know if that was the intention of the director or that's how it turned out to be. He lives by the street code, and then imidetly throws it out of the window at the end, even though all of these could be ignored. Frank suprisingly cares more about his family than his dirty business. He treated Leo with more respect than Willie, they are in a way family after all. Leo feels betrayed but it's his fault for trusting Willie a second time, not only that if he told Frank who the true killer was in the abandoned building things could have turned out much different. What was Frank supposed to do, let him go when he thinks that Leo is the killer? That's why Leo has no right to be upset with Frank, when he threw out his best chance out of the window. I understadnd that if Frank turned on Willie that he might spill the beans, but I know he has the connections to make Willie shut up even if Willie is arrested.

I understand that The Yards is supposed to be about real people trying to do the best they can within a system that's rotten to the core. I also appreciate that the screenplay is supposed to be more complex than a standard good vs evil crime story. But even so, I'm sorry to say that every character onscreen (except for Wahlberg's saintly mother, played by Burstyn) is hopelessly corrupt. It's simply impossible to respect or care about any of them. For example, stand-up guy, Leo (Wahlberg) goes to prison rather than rat on his friends, but then does an about-face after his release and does exactly that to his family when he inevitably gets into trouble. Separately, Theron's character appears shocked when she suddenly learns her boyfriend (Phoenix) is a violent criminal—a fact that's perfectly obvious to every other character, as well as the viewing audience, from the beginning. Although extremely well performed all around by a fine cast, The Yards is relentlessly grim, depressing and ultimately unsatisfying.

An ex con that deals with the struggle of poverty, a sick dying mother, and systematic corruption.

This movie failed to grab my attention and I’ve never seen people act as nonchalant over major life altering things were unfolding 2.2. Then the cousins sleeping with each other gets thrown in like what . Just wasn’t fun

Bine jucat, nu prea atent construit

A gritty crime thriller that tells a story of corruption in the New York public transit industry. With a stoic Mark Wahlberg in the lead role and a flawless performance by Joaquin Phoenix as Willie the movie is an entertaining albeit stereotypical crime drama. The characters seem real, relatable and emotionally invest the viewer in the story. That being said the romantic tension between Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Therons characters seemed unnecessary and distracts from the main plot. The film makes great use of lighting and urban environment to highlight dramatic elements; you can tell a-lot of thought and attention to detail was put into the shot composition. Intense moments are paired with shadows, flickering lights and sonic dissonance of train breaks or police sirens but silence is also used effectively to create dramatic tension. Another detracting detail in my opinion is a plot hole during the hospital scene: If these guys are throwing all this money around to bribe and intimidate people couldn't the have spent a little dough on a silencer for Marky Marks gun in order to kill the cop quickly and stealthily? Suspending my disbelief during a movie with such strong elements of realism is jarring and distracting. Regardless of the minor issues The Yards entertains with out breaking the mold.

Although well paced and featuring top talents such as Mark Whalberg, Charlize Theron and Joaquin Pheonix this James Gray directed film falls short. Why? Because as an expose of corruption in New York City politics, The Yards doesn't offer anything new. As a low-key thriller about crime, punishment, and betrayal, it's competent, but not spectacular. And, as a melodrama about broken friendships and tangled family relationships, it only does the job some of the time. Gray showed great promise with Little Odessa. Hopefully, The Yards represents nothing more than a sophomore slump and is not indicative of the direction his career is going to take. 

It's amazing that with a cast this talented you get a movie this fucking boring. James Caan is excellent as usual and Charlize was still getting naked back then, but this movie pretty much blows. Watch We Own the Night instead. Same two lead actors, same director, and much better.

A well-acted crime drama, that lacks on momentum and engagement (READ: slow and boring) . Marky Mark and Charlize Theron look so young in this film. It's not worth sitting though unless you're a big fan of them or Joaquin Phoenix. Rating: 5 / 10

the continuing saga of watching Phoenix cry over shit w a uber gothed out Theron and a starting "say hi to your mother" Wahlberg.

The only boring thing in this movie is the expression of Mark Wahlberg, that is absent for the total lasting of the movie. Apart from this, I enjoyed the view.

I gotta do what I can do to protect what I built. Leo Handler is fresh out of prison after years of work in the family business. His uncle is a crime lord in Queens New York that uses the rail road to transports business in and out of New York. Leo wants to be on the straight and narrow but his uncle begins sucking him back into the world that got him in prison to begin with. Can Leo find a way out of this life? "If all they want is cash there's always plenty of that." James Gray, director of The Immigrant, Two Lovers, We Own the Night, Little Odessa, and the upcoming The Lost City of Z, delivers The Yards. The storyline for this picture is interesting and has a nice blend of family and mob drama. The action and script are pretty good and the acting is better than average. The cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron, James Cann, and Faye Dunaway. "I have paid my debts to society." I recently came across this on Netflix and decided to give it a shot since I had never seen or heard of this. This was a very solid and well done picture. It is an above average addition t the genre. It's not a classic gangster film but it is worth a viewing. "Many lives have been destroyed by this system." Grade: C+

WOW......WOW.....WOW.....JUST SEEN THIS MOVIE 4 THE 1ST TIME N THINK THAT THIS IS A GOOD MOVIE 2 WATCH.......its got a good cast of actors/actresses throughout this movie.....I think that james caan, mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize theron, play good roles/parts throughout this movie......I think that the director of this drama movie had done a great job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect throughout this movie........I think that james caan was absolutely brilliant throughout this movie...... The film was based on an actual corruption scandal in the mid-1980s involving the director (James Gray)'s father. MTA New York City Transit (the city's Metropolitan Transit Authority) first refused the production companies the right to film at any of its yards because it believed the film portrayed the agency in a bad light. The film was shot in Maspeth and Elmhurst, Queens, Roosevelt Island, the Bronx, and New Jersey. The railyard scenes were shot at the 207th Street shop on the New York City Transit system and at an abandoned freight yard in Brooklyn. It was shot in the spring and summer of 1998 but not released until the fall of 2000 due to studio delays. Box office On a relatively limited release, the film, which had a $24 million budget, took in just $889,352 in the United States and Canada, and $34,684 in Australia. Awards Won National Board of Review Awards (2000): Best Supporting Actor: Joaquin Phoenix Broadcast Film Critics Association (2001): Best Supporting Actor: Joaquin Phoenix Nominated Cannes Film Festival (2000): Golden Palm Award: James Gray man I think that this is such a gripping movie 2 watch, its got such a fantastic cast throughout this movie......I think that this movie started out really slowly but it keeps you on the edge's of your seats throughout this movie.....its got a good soundtrack throughout this movie.....I think that this is such a gripping thrilling movie 2 watch, its got such a fantastic cast throughout this movie.....I think that this is such a really well written/acted/directed movie 2 watch, it is such a thrilling movie 2 watch......

Fairly good, wonderful cast, although with quite a corny story.

Ok movie. The Yards is another typical entry into the "gangster" movie genre with big ideas, good performances from its great cast, but doesn't do well them. The plot is predictable and a bit boring, the pacing is so slow that The Godfather feels like it goes faster than this. The three leads give good performances for the genre, just not great material to work with unfortunately.

***Due to the recent RT changes that have basically ruined my past reviews, I am mostly only giving a rating rather than a full review.***

Good movie, typical of Mark Walbergs criminal type movies, but in this one it's all because of an accident. After being let out of jail Leo is accompanying his brother on a job for a subway company, but he is convicted of the murder that his brother did. Its thrilling movie, with some great actors and great preformances by them. The plot has some good twists, particularly at the end. There was some confusing moments for me on who's who at times, but they don't last long. How Leo wasn't caught snooping around his apartment when the police were looking for him was a little unbelievable though. But the movie was pretty good story about crime, corruption, betrayal, and family. Its an original plot but it's not even close to being Mark Walbergs best film.

I am not usually a drama fan but this movie got me hooked quickly and a few twists and turns kept it interesting... besides, it's Marky Mark!

nothing special too make this movie stand out...i'm not a fan..