Not broken, but a minor 'Fracture'
From time to time, filmmakers tout the pairing multi-generational acting elite, typically an elder statesman and a young firebrand.
Usually, they are crap.
See if you can remember any of the stars of these titles:

“We’re No Angles” (1989)
“Family Business” (1989)
“The Score” (2001)
“Anger Management” (2002)
“Every Which Way But Loose” (1978)
(Answers at the end of the review)

Director Gregory Hoblit teamed a talented twosome a decade ago with “Primal Fear,” a twisty courtroom thriller which starred a seasoned Richard Gere and a no-name young actor by the name of Edward Norton.

Hoblit goes back before the judge in “Fracture,” using the same casting dynamics, this time with Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins and former “Mickey Mouse Club” member Ryan Gosling (the show was a breeding ground for such talent as Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and Keri Russell, but also was responsible for infecting society with human trainwreck Brtiney Spears).

“Fracture” does relatively little more than an average “Law and Order” episode, but the talents of Hopkins and Gosling make it a rather diverting two-hour game of cat-and-Mousketeer.

The setup is seemingly airtight. Hopkins plays Ted Crawford, some sort of only-in-the-movies millionaire who has time to fidget with gadgets at work and conducts meetings by merely breezing in, uttering one line and zipping off in his Porsche. Ted discovers his pretty young wife having a romantic liaison with another man and proceeds to empty the contents of his handgun in her face when she returns home.

When the police arrive, he surrenders and subsequently confesses to the murder.
Enter Willy Beachum (played by Gosling) a sleepy eyed prosecutor who’s packing up his belongings at the D.A.’s office for a far more lucrative offer at a corporate law firm. With his mind still in the clouds from the impending move, and with the seemingly guilty Crawford opting to act as his own counsel, Willy cavalierly accepts the challenge.

Of course, as years of televised procedural crime dramas have taught us, killers on the screen are more intelligent than the average citizen and apparently have a grasp of law reserved only for those graduating cum laude from Harvard.

Willy slowly realizes that the “shut” part of this “open-and-shut” case was not as easy as he was initially led to believe. A number of circumstances begin popping up like a Whac-A-Mole game that threatens to put Willy’s prosecutorial prowess to the test.

Screenplay writers Dainel Pyne and Glenn Gers seem to be a little too proud of themselves at times by leading the audience down its legal spiral staircase, and, ultimately, “Fracture” will be forgotten within hours of exiting the theater. But I’ll be damned if for the length of the film, they did not keep the dusty mental gears grinding trying to find out “Where is the gun?!”

As if he was unsure of the dramatic heft of his mystery’s puzzle pieces, director Hoblit crams his film with one too many unresolved subplots that threaten to push “Fracture” to the breaking point. For example, Willy’s silly shenanigans with his way-too-sexy future boss (played by Rosamund Pike) feel like unnecessary filler, as does his strained relationship with his current employer (played by a sorely stifled David Strathairn).

Still, it is fun to watch Hopkins strut and preen in another variation of his perhaps his most iconic character. I am speaking of course of millionaire Ian McCandles in the Emilio Estevez/Mick Jaggar magnum opus “Freejack.”

I’m kidding, of course.

Hopkins plays Crawford as a more refined version of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, but still maintains the menacing smirk and steely gaze best remembered by audiences. His subtle movements are in perfect contrast to the manic gesticulations on Gosling’s Beechum. It’s like watching a ballet on the same stage as a rock concert, and yet, the two styles work in tandem with one another and create considerable tension when the screen is shared.

“Fracture” will no doubt be a small footnote on both actor’s careers, but it’s still a kick to witness them together – like watching a pitching legend toss a few past the bat of a young hotshot. Gosling is confident enough to knock a few over the fence, yet Hopkins proves he can still bring on the heat.

Answers:
“We’re No Angels” Robert DeNiro and Sean Penn star as cons in priests’ clothing
“Family Business” Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman and Matthew Broderick are three generations of thieves
“The Score”: Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro and Edward Norton are jewel thieves
“Anger Management”: Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler…oh, who cares.
“Every Which Way But Loose” Clint Eastwood teams up with the charming and talented young actor Manis (playing Clyde), who went on to lead his own film with 1981’s “Going Ape!,” in which he upstaged young up-and-comer Tony Danza.