16 Blocks (2006)

Cop Willis is assigned the task of escorting criminal Bey to court where he will testify against rogue cops, and the cops will do anything to silence him.A simple premise and hardly original but still potentially entertaining, but in this case - no. The plot is straight-forward and yet littered with implausible moments, even the 'twists' are obvious. As for the dialogue - after being gratuitously assaulted by Bey's unending excrutiating verbal diarrhoea, I started hoping the rogue cops would succeed - quickly. Anything to end this nightmare.

An aging alcoholic cop is assigned the task of escorting a witness from police custody to a courthouse 16 blocks away. There are, however, chaotic forces at work that prevent them from making it in one piece. Directed by Richard Donner the genious behind Superman, Lethal Weapon and Assassins this fast paced action drama elevates from Bruce Willis excellent dramatic perfomance but also Yasiin Bey who gives an excellent perfomance as a man who saw something that shouldnt have and along with that the excellent and talented David Morse as a dirty cop. The direction is excellent and some shots or scenes like the one where Jack kills the man who tried to kill Eddie or the scene with the Bus were heart pounding and with an amazing score in the background. Overall a well shot and well directed Drama, Crime, Action film. (A+)

Richard Donner and Bruce Willis joined forces for this exciting chase action cop drama about a boozing detective's (Willis) protection of a witness to police corruption (Mos Def, sensational), sought after by one of the corrupt cops (David Morse) and his plainclothes team all over 16 blocks of New York City. Taking place during a period of time as a day ("real time") unfolds, as Willis and Mos Def will have to avoid cops constantly in this cat and mouse as Morse and his guys are persistent but always outsmarted. Morse uses his influence within the force to convince his cop colleagues that Willis has gone off the deep end. Donner is a real pro at staging action within confined spaces, traffic, alleys, buildings of all shapes and sizes, and certainly captures this authentic feel of a chase within a crowded and busy city. Willis is on his game as a down-on-his-luck detective holding on to his integrity while Morse surrendered his own. Mos Def surprises due to his ability to show a flesh and blood character that is undeserved of his fate, likable and genuine, in his situation due to what he knows not for any serious type of criminal behavior. Morse just wants both men dead and will do whatever it takes to see that they don't make it out of the chase alive. I think this is criminally underrated and especially well made due to the way Donner follows the leads throughout the city with the dirty cops in intense pursuit. It presents a seemingly unsolvable problem for the heroes, so the fun of the film is showing how they could possibly escape Morse and his sorry bunch of no-good cops. The bus sequence is especially a highlight due to the complexity for which Bruce and Mos Def find themselves, as a busload of passengers and cops surrounding them presents quite a difficult dilemma. Willis' revelation regarding why he's so debilitated and weary adds a surprising wrinkle to the film as he has a shame that has motivated him to defend Mos Def and challenge Morse over his safety. Facing responsibility for your actions and owning up to past transgressions could be Willis' salvation, Mos Def's character serving as a factor in his rescue from the doldrums.

The idea for this movie is perfect for Willis: a guy who has all the odds against him rises to save the day. However, here the concept fails as the crew takes itself too seriously and overdoes virtually everything.The first thing that comes to mind is Willis' makeup. He looks like he's still wearing his Death Becomes Her makeup. He's just plain ugly, he looks way too old to still be holding a job and there is no strength hidden behind those features.Mos Def, who is also well cast, has dialogs pushed down his throat that must have made him wince. He can do so much better. Now he's just another whino. Very annoying.Overall, aside the casting and the idea for the movie, there is nothing to tell here. It's run-of-the-mill stuff and you have to squeeze out some enthusiasm to keep focused on the movie. Five minutes into the movie you know how it will end and not much later you know both the plot and the bad guys. With the uninspired execution the movie lands before properly taking off.