Detective Jack Mosley, played in an endearing performance by Bruce Willis, is worn out and depressed. Looking like he should have retired a decade ago, he can barely make it up or down the stairs without getting exhausted. As he lumbers along on his bad leg, Willis's Jack is miles away from an action hero. In fact, he's not especially interested in anything but booze. He doesn't just drink on the job, he stops at a liquor store while he's in the process of transporting a prisoner who has to be at court by 10 a.m. in order to testify in front of a grand jury whose term is about to expire.
The movie, which essentially happens in real time, follows Jack and his wimpy prisoner, a two-bit hood named Eddie Bunker who once saw something he shouldn't have, a cop killing an innocent victim. With a twangy accent that is supposed to be annoying and is, Mos Def is terrific as the little guy with a dream -- his own cake bakery -- who find himself in way over his head with a whole host of bad cops out to kill him before he gives them up.
With his a perfect look of boyish innocence, David Morse plays Detective Frank Nugent, the head of the forces of evil. A methodical and intelligent officer, Frank leads his large herd of cats in a big chase for the two little mice. But, as mice will, Jack and Eddie keep managing to escape in the dense pedestrian and car traffic in New York City's Chinatown. They only have 16 blocks to get to the courthouse, but Frank and his boys are all over them. Logic isn't high on the agenda, but it is easy to suspend disbelief with the exception of a key scene late in the film when Frank has Jack and lets him go so that someone else can get him. This makes no sense since Jack keeps slipping away.
By LETHAL WEAPON series director Richard Donner, 16 BLOCKS is a bit of a surprise. His signature LETHAL WEAPON franchise is stuffed to the gills with non-stop action and over-the-top humor. But, even at just 97 minutes, 16 BLOCKS is frequently slack. It's sweet, but it's slow -- sometimes too slow. Several scenes feel like everyone on the set just got overwhelmed and decided to take a break, but the editor forgot and left the scenes in anyway.
Ultimately the story works because we grow to like Jack and Eddie quite a bit, and we enjoy rooting for them as they flee a quite credible villain. But most of all, it's just fun. It's a popcorn picture that is a perfect pick for a cold or rainy March day.
16 BLOCKS runs 1:37. It is rated PG-13 for "violence, intense sequences of action, and some strong language" and would be acceptable for kids around 10 and up.
By : Steve Rhodes (http://www.internetreviews.com/)
Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup
Rating: 3
I tell this story sometimes to illustrate the evolution of the film watcher. When my old dude was stationed in Korea, The base theater would show the 'new releases' some six months behind schedule every Sunday. So Sundays for us kids was movie day. This particular Sunday our movie was Clint Eastwood' s 'The Gauntlet' and I and my other 13-year-old friends left the theater swearing we had just seen, arguably, the best movie EVER! A few Sundays later, we subjected to Paul Newman's 'The Verdict'. Whatta snoozer. Not a single car chase or gunfight in that whole two hour mess. Some of us actually went to sleep.
Fast forward 15 years or so. I'm sitting around the house and notice 'The Gauntlet' is coming on NBC or whatever. Remembering it as a 13-year-old being the best movie ever, I sit down and watch probably the stupidest, most inane, most implausible movie of all time. Damn Clint, what was up with that? Some months later, 'The Verdict' comes on Showtime or what-not, and it is absolutely one the finest films I had seen at the time. A very well written, taut, gripping drama.
What the hell does this have to with 16 Blocks? In 'The Gauntlet', Clint Eastwood plays a broken down drunk cop who has to get a criminal minded witness from point A to the courtroom to testify while dirty cops pull out the heavy artillery in attempting to kill them both. In '16 Blocks' Bruce Willis plays a broken down drunk cop who has to get a criminal minded witness, played by hip-hop star Mos-Def, from point A to the courtroom to testify while dirty cops pull out the heavy artillery in attempting to kill them both. 13-year-olds rejoice! Your film has arrived!
Directed with precision by the near legendary Richard Donner, who also brought us Superman and Lethal Weapon, 16 Blocks isn't near the belief suspending crock that 'The Gauntlet' ended up being, but it does require that you shut off some brain cells to gain full entertainment. Bruce Willis ' Detective Jack Mosley may be a down and out, drunk on the job, bum legged, loser, who thinks death would be better than the life he leads, but has little trouble staying one step ahead, mentally and physically, of the cops trying dispatch him and his pesky witness. Leading the Dirty Cop Brigade is Jack's former partner Detective Frank Nugent played by the David Morse who completely awesome in this role. Maybe a little too good actually. Morse as the sly, easy going detective with a phenomenal mean streak, effectively portrays his character as a wise, street savvy police veteran, with a sixth sense for his prey's next move. With loyal soldiers under his foot, Top police brass bending at his will and a freaking GPS satellite system to track his victims, the match of wits between Morse's Nugent and Willis' Mosley seemed extremely lopsided. But it's a movie, so.
And I know that Mos-Def is black, and he raps, but this role as a petty criminal who I assumed is supposed to have some kind of violent edge just didn't work for the guy. I mean the man does have mad ability. He was best thing in Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy, and his work in 'Something the Lord Made' was a revelation. Here, however, he seemed more mentally challenged than criminalistic (is that even a word?). And quite honestly he was starting to grate on a nerve.
But the flick did have some nice action set pieces, and it did manage to keep me entertained for the majority of the film. It has a strange ending sequence involving Willis, Morse and parking lot, but I won't spoil it for you. All movies seem to have a hard time ending themselves. So bring out the 13-year old in yourself and have a good time at the show. Just remember 15 years from now that I told you so.
By : Christopher Armstead (http://www.filmcriticsunited.com/)
