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16 Blocks (2006) Warner Brothers 1 hr. 45 mins. Starring: Bruce Willis, Dante “Mos Def” Smith, David Morse, Conrad Pla, David Zayas, David Sparrow, Tig Fong, Michael Keenan Directed by: Richard Donner This film is rated: PG-13 16 Blocks Rating:  
E-MAIL FRANK OCHIENG There are just so few original ways to ignite the salt-and-pepper buddy cop genre with grasping imagination. However, if anyone could provide some spark into yet another concocted cop caper then it’s director Richard “Lethal Weapon” Donner. After all, Donner has made a profitable movie career out of helming the high-profile cheeky police action-packed flicks that made movie misfit icons out of the Mel Gibson-Danny Glover shoot-em-up connection. Unfortunately, Donner has run out of ammunition with his latest hedonistic handcuff actioner “16 Blocks”. Interestingly, “16 Blocks” is a tired and derivative take on the “weary cop syndrome” where redemption and resolution meet up as dubiously cliched as all the other manufactured entries we’ve seen countless times before. Donner and screenwriter Richard Wenk’s formulaic urban drama plays like an episodic adventure of a nostalgic hour-long 70’s detective series complete with by-the-numbers angst. In fact, some may recognize “16 Block’s” hybrid appeal that invites memories of Clint Eastwood’s late seventies cop thriller “The Gauntlet” mixed in with the crafty banter of the early eighties Eddie Murphy-Nick Nolte vehicle “48 Hrs”. In short, flawed anti-hero law enforcers and woeful tales of inner city corruption is a recipe that’s about as appetizing as sipping cold chicken soup through a straw. Disillusioned Manhattan-based cop Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) is a physical and emotional mess. Apparently, his dampened spirits are continuously found within a reliable bottle of alcohol. Anyway, Mosley is one of these dissolute officers that has seen all and done all yet never experienced any sense of accomplishment in his checkered career. With a receding hairline, middle-aged potbelly and ragged mustache, Mosley’s only dependable recourse to get him through the tedious day is a welcomed field trip to the liquor store. But first orders for Mosley are set in stone by his superior; he’s supposed to escort a witness named Eddie Bunker (Dante “Mos Def” Smith) downtown for a 118-minute court session. Soon, the pair will find out that this 16 block task of getting the garrulous inmate to the courthouse will prove to be daunting mission indeed. Before transporting Bunker to his 8 A.M. destination at 100 Centre Street to testify before a grand jury regarding his needed insights on shady police practices within the department, Mosley decides to visit his favorite Asian booze-guzzling pit stop. This, of course, proves to be the unwise thing to do. A couple of unassuming characters actually try to plug some deadly holes into Bunker in an attempt to silence him before his court arrival. Naturally, this serves as a wake up call for Mosley to spring into defensive mode. Can Mosley dust off his cynical malaise long enough to safely get Bunker to his awaited court session? Better yet, will Mosley find solace in doing the right thing as he tries to resolve the broken pieces in his professional/personal quagmire? Not only is Mosley at odds with his self-inflicted wounds of pity and pain but he has to take on his fellow badge-wearing buddies who endorse the idea of snuffing out Bunker because he’s a critical liability on “the brotherhood of the uniform”. It’s easy for Mosley to turn his head and let his wicked comrades eradicate Bunker but his consciousness kicks in firmly. For once, the beleaguered Mosley must set the course strategically and uphold his duty no matter the cost. And so the tandem are whisked away as the wayward dirty-minded NYPD plan to eliminate both intended targets Bunker (the law-breaking snitch) and Mosley (the protective turncoat). Along for the bumpy ride in this arbitrary cat-and-mouse police thriller is Mosley’s colleague and nemesis Frank Nugent (David Morse). The devilish Nugent is the lead cheerleader behind the planned demise of Bunker and must ensure that Mosley’s capabilities of delivering this squealer is as smashed as a dead roach in the dark. The cluttered and busy streets of New York is what remains a confusing chessboard of chance between Mosley’s deteriorating grit and Nugent’s escalating deviance. The one main ingredient that works in “16 Blocks” is the claustrophobic setting situated in the hectic sidewalks and alleyways of Manhattan’s rush hour utopia. Donner and cinematographer Glen MacPherson aptly capture the harried tension that’s tucked away amongst the hustle and bustle of frequented New York City establishments and the congested traffic of human bodies and cars. The suffocating effects of the Big Apple are marvelously conveyed in an urban universe that can swallow you without any advanced warning. It’s too bad that this same distinctive aura isn’t felt in the conjured up twists and turns of this clunky script. If anything, “16 Blocks” fails to heat up the rudimentary plot devices of shootouts and other confrontational cliches found in standardized cop dramas. There are no creative risks or refreshing anecdotal turmoil that sets apart “16 Blocks” from any other gun-toting chiller wanting to wax poetics about crooked cops and their culture of abused privilege and power. It’s a nice departure to see Willis playing a wounded and wrecked soul with his trademark swagger down to a minimum. Still, Willis being cinematically toned down as a “down-on-your-luck” outsider feels more manipulative than it does revelatory. Consequently, Willis’ Jack Mosley’s introspection and Mos Def’s nerve-racking chatty Eddie Bunker comes off as a disjointed odd couple traveling road show. When the duo are ducking and dodging the bad guys amid the mayhem, the normally dignified presence of Def is diminished because his restrictive character is reduced to simply flapping his flippant lip in the middle of the generic madness. As Bunker, the depth of Def’s stool pigeon alter ego has the durability and credibility of an expired restraining order. As the resident bad apple looking to whack our tenacious team, Morse’s over-the-top villainy as Frank Nugent never quite scratches the surface of curiosity or cruelty very convincingly. Saddled in its dramatic contrivance, “16 Blocks” is another run-of-the-mill feisty fable of wayward badge-flashing decadence. Sadly, Donner’s rip-off with the “Serpico-like” overtones is as enclosed as yellow ribbon surrounding an undisturbed crime scene. Click here to comment on this review or post your own thoughts. Frank Ochieng © TheWorldJournal.com |
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