rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States, Germany; 2006
Directed by Richard Donner; produced by Randall Emmett, Avi Lerner, Arnold Rifkin, John Thompson, Jim Van Wyck; written by Richard Wenk
Starring Bruce Willis, Mos Def, David Morse, Jenna Stern, Casey Sander, Cylk Cozart
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
'16 Blocks' takes some wrong turns around an hour in the movie, but before
that is quite entertaining. Maybe it is made out of elements we have seen
many times before, it is done good and it stars Bruce Willis who is always
able to give a film something more. The film is almost spoiled by an
annoying performance from Mos Def, although I do not think you can really
blame him.
The set-up is simple: Willis is a cop who happens to be a drunk, useless in
the force. After some excitement he has to take care of Mos Def, a key
witness in a case against a lot of other cops. They have to go sixteen
blocks to the courthouse while being hunted by corrupt members of the police
department. The leader of the pack (David Morse) used to be the partner of
Willis.
Director Richard Donner keeps this premise interesting in the first hour.
The action and suspense are there, Willis does the rest. But somewhere
around a scene that involves a bus and some hostages the film has no clue
where to go. There is some unexplained trickery where Willis and Def vanish
and appear somewhere else; most of the fun vanished as well without
appearing again. The climax is a predictable disappointment. '16 Blocks'
works up to a point and could be recommended for it. Those who appreciate
Willis will probably like the film anyway, and I could not blame you for it.