16 BLOCKS

RATING 3

(Director: Richard Donner, PG-13, 105 min)

Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) is an aging New York cop more interested in where his next drink is coming from than anything to do with upholding the law or justice for the people. Too bad for him he gets a last minute assignment to haul a nobody down to the courts to give testimony, from lock-up to the courthouse – 16 blocks, no sweat. Unless the nobody happens to be giving key information in a trial where the bad guy was a real bad guy. Eddie (Mos Def) isn’t too crazy about having an old drunk haul him downtown but he is a man with a schedule to keep and he’s looking for signs that his luck is about to change. One sign that’s not so good is two minutes into his journey someone tries to put a bullet through his head.

Jack manages to call for backup and who should arrive but detective Frank Nugent (David Morse) and his crew – Eddie realizes that the man he is to testify against is a NY detective. Frank makes it abundantly clear that if Eddie lives, he will take down a lot of good men, aka six not so nice officers of the law. Frank and Jack have history together not to mention the bond of the blue, but Jack the falling down drunk seizes this as his opportunity to be a stand up guy. Jack and Eddie have a long way to go and a lot of ~~bullets~~ obstacles to overcome, if they are lucky they might be able to change their lives to be the kind of men they dream of being.

This is not a great film but it is entertaining. Bruce Willis makes a good hero even when he is the slovenly, broken down version of a hero. Mos Def chooses a slightly annoying character voice but after a little while you can get past that and just enjoy another version of a Richard Donner buddy-cop movie. The special effects are not over done and the script does actually try to have a narrative that is interesting. Predictable? Well sure, it was made in Hollywood and the general public likes movies that have neat little endings, preferably with cake and ice cream all around. You wouldn’t miss anything by waiting to see this movie, but if you're just dying to go out and have some $9 popcorn this could be an okay way to pass the time in a movie theatre.

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Movie Chick Leigh Ann:
"Corrupt cops and birthday cake may not sound like a recipe for a good flick but it works with a little hero icing – 3."

Movie Chick Cherryl:
"Jack just wants to protect and serve; Eddie just wants to serve cake. We’re just grateful to see a movie that doesn’t serve up dreck, so everybody’s happy – 3."