Although we have all seen Bruce Willis play the aging, alcoholic, out of shape cop before, 16 Blocks is surprisingly a pretty entertaining film, and even manages to get some moments of suspense thrown in for good measure.
The movie was directed by Richard Donner (who knows a thing or two about making cop films thanks to those Lethal Weapon movies), and was written by Richard Wenk. The movie benefits from a cast of strong character actors including Mos Def, David Morse, and David Zayas.
Although we have seen this kind of cop plot before, 16 Blocks manages to hold your interest thanks to the interaction between Willis and Def, the cinematography of Glen MacPherson, and the quick editing by Steve Mirkovich. Donner knows how to craft a good cop film, and proves with 16 Blocks that he can still throw audiences a curve from time to time.
16 Blocks follows several tension filled hours in the life of New York City Detective Jack Mosley (a disheveled looking Willis) - an alcoholic cop at the bottom of everyone’s list for who too call if you need back up. Mosley is set to leave for the day when his boss tells him that he is needed to escort a prisoner (Def) to the court building for testimony. Willis objects, but is assured it won’t take more than an hour and that he can even come in later tomorrow.
Naturally, everything goes wrong and it turns out that the prisoner Eddie Bunker is actually the eye witness to a case being brought against a dirty cop. What makes matters worse is this cop stands to take half of the precinct down with him if Bunker makes it to the Grand Jury on time. Willis discovers this after Bunker is almost killed after a quick stop to a bar on the way to court.
Def and Willis have to get to court on time
After calling for back-up, Mosley discovers that his old partner Frank Nugent (Morse) is leading the group trying to kill Bunker, and that he now has two options – hand over Bunker or become the cop that he once so he can get Bunker to the Grand Jury.
From there the film becomes one massive pressure cooker as Willis and Def try to make it down 16 blocks crawling with dirty cops trying to kill them. After several gunfights and close calls, the two are forced to take hostages in a bus, and a standoff begins. This leads to the final tension packed moments of the film and a ton of last minute twist that make you glad you stuck around to see the film’s ending.
Although Willis pretty much just plays an older version the same kind of cop he has played in past movies like Striking Distance or even Hostage, 16 Blocks does feature some good performances from Morse and Def.
Def is a likable con who seems to always be talking. The actor is good at playing these quirky but loveable characters, and you honestly do start to hope the guy will live through the day. All he wants to do is open a cake shop, and make birthday cakes for kids. At times, it seems that he is a little too slow to even realize what is going on around him.
On the other hand, Morse is mean, cocky, and plans to stop at nothing to kill Def – even if it means going through his old partner. The actor shines in several scenes where he is facing off against Willis and playing mind games with the character. You also have to love how he is constantly chewing gum throughout the whole movie.
He expects Willis to “do the right thing,” but he is not even worried about the threat if Willis disagrees. When the standoff happens, Morse makes sure to point out to the SWAT team (who know nothing about what is really going on) that Willis has already shot two “of ours” and makes sure they know what that means. He keeps the tension high throughout the entire movie and even in the final minutes you don’t know what to expect.
Morse is the perfect bad guy
16 Blocks does have some problems, but they don’t get in the film’s way from being entertaining. The biggest problem is the way the cops are constantly on Willis’ heels no matter what twist or turn he takes. They explain this through tracing cell phones or through the familiarity of the Morse being his ex-partner, but it does get a bit old towards the end. Another problem is with the standoff on the bus.
Up until that point, the movie has always been on the go and constantly moving. The standoff slows the plot down, and really seems to weaken the tension that was building while the characters were on the move. It doesn’t ruin the film, but seems to dumb it down a bit.
It is almost like Donner and Wenk couldn’t figure out how to keep the plot running for four more blocks or just wanted to add more bonding time for Willis and Def. The scene does manage to help develop the characters a little more, and provides a nice way for the two to get a few more blocks down the road.
The DVD comes with an alternate ending which Donner explains is actually the original theatrical ending before they changed it to what was finally released. While I can’t give the two endings away, I will say I kind of liked the theatrical one a little more than the alternate, but both are pretty good.
The DVD also comes with several deleted scenes that have commentary with Wenk and Donner. The scenes are enjoyable because of the commentary and the explanations of why they were cut. Most of the footage further explains Def’s beliefs that the two were being led by signs throughout the movie, or show more of the bonding development between the two characters.
Willis plays the same cop we have seen before
16 Blocks is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
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