16 Blocks (Widescreen Edition)
starring Bruce Willis, Mos Def, David
Morse, Jenna Stern, Casey Sander
Everyone Can Change
Fully recovering from the wretched flop Timeline, director Richard Donner
brings seasoned skill to 16 Blocks, a satisfying thriller boosted by
intelligent plotting and the stellar pairing of Bruce Willis and Mos Def in
quirky, well-written roles. Making the most of minimal dialogue, Willis plays
Jack Mosley, a boozy, disillusioned New York City detective who
reluctantly accepts an assignment to transport squeaky -voiced chatterbox
Eddie Bunker (Mos Def) to a grand jury hearing where hes scheduled to
testify against a group of corrupt, drug-dealing cops. Theyve got two hours
to travel 16 blocks, but the dirtiest cop (David Morse) is determined to kill
Eddie before he can testify; what he doesnt know is that Jack senses
something in Eddies seemingly innocent, optimistic demeanor that he
wants to protect. Working from a tight, twisting screenplay by Richard
Wenk, Donner turns familiar material into an efficient potboiler that delivers
tense urban action (like Donners earlier Mel Gibson hit Conspiracy Theory)
while leaving plenty of room for Willis and especially Mos Def (in a critically
acclaimed performance) to develop their flawed yet admirable characters.
16 Blocks may be a standard-issue thriller in many respects, but as a
showcase for its appealing cast, it quickly rises above its generic
limitations. --Jeff Shannon
16 Blocks / B000FFL2G6
*Spoilers*
I went into 16 Blocks not knowing what to expect and my ignorance, I
think, greatly increased my enjoyment of the movie.
Willis stars as a jaded police officer, tired of the job, or his life, and most of
all of himself. When he is asked to work overtime to transport a nobody
witness to what seems to be a routine court hearing, he is overwhelmed
when the witness turns out to be a key figure in a courthouse battle to
expose police corruption throughout the force - an exposure that the police
officers on the prowl through the city are absolutely determined to prevent.
One of the most powerful things about this movie is the uncertainty
generated throughout the film. It is often very difficult to create and sustain
genuine suspense in movies, when movie goers are saturated with the
common themes and easy answers of so many movies. 16 Blocks,
however, keeps the viewer guessing.
As the plot unfolds, the viewer grapples with the suspense and questions
sustained and revealed through the course of the movie. Is Willis a good
cop, ground down by a corrupt system and used to turning a blind eye (not
unlike Oldmans character in Batman Begins (Widescreen Edition))? Or i s
he part of the problem, a bad cop like the others, but one who has become
so disgusted with himself that he decides to risk everything on this one
chance at redemption? Mos Defs character is equally inscrutable at times:
Is he really the stupid nobody that he seems to be in the beginning, when
we see him in jail, apparently whining about his undelivered suit? Or is he
a hardened criminal, no better than the cops he will testify against, who
shouldnt be trusted with a gun? Is he as genuinely innocent as he claims
to be, guilty only of being in the wrong place at the wrong time?
One of the fundamental questions that 16 Blocks grapples with is the
nature of change and whether it is possible, especially after decades of
repeated behavior. The movie seeks to answer if corrupt cops and
criminals can give up being corrupt cops and criminals, in much the same
way that we wonder if, for example, an alcoholic can give up his drink.
And, even if that behavior can change, at what price does redemption
come? I was pleased that the movie did not take the easy way out in this
regard.
As much as I enjoyed 16 Blocks, and I truly did, I almost come to feel that
this wonderful movie is not well-suited for repeated viewings. So much of
the suspense revolves around the characters of Willis and Mos Def, and
that kind of suspense is difficult to recreate in a repeated viewing. I would
definitely recommend this movie for a rental, but whether its one to own
and re-watch will be a matter of personal preference.
This movie provides closed captions for the hearing impaired.
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16 Blocks (Widescreen Edition) starring Bruce Willis, Mos Def, David Morse, Jenna
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