Yikes, this movie has been out for a while, but I just got around to seeing it this weekend. I am not even sure why we went to see this. Do you ever have movie going experiences like that? You know, where you kind of go and there's nothing there and you think awww what the heck and then you end up watching a movie that's not bad but kind of forgettable? Well that's kind of what going to 16 Blocks was like.
Straight up, let me tell you, this ain't a bad movie. That's the God's honest truth. The set up is simple. A really gross looking Bruce Willis is tasked with taking a witness, Mos Def to the Grand Jury in New York City. It's 8 AM. The Grand Jury is 16 Blocks away. He has to get there before 10 AM. That's the movie in a nutshell, okay?
But like most suspense thrillers, things are never as simple as they seem. For instance, it could be that the witness you are supposed to escort (Mos Def) has such a shrilly, annoying voice that you can't wait to have that first drink of the day at 8:10 AM. I am not sure what Mr. Def was thinking and all, but holy hoorah was his voice annoying. I don't know what New York City is like, so maybe people talk like that there. But it was more grating than Canadian French. It was more grating than Australian! And that's saying something coming from me because those guys work my last nerve.
Okay on with the story. So Bruce Willis' Detective is totally a drunk, and he really looks the part. It's established from just about frame one that he's a burnout. Messed up. He's so messed up they even gave him a little prosthetic belly that looked totally fake. But what you couldn't fake was that faraway look in Mr. Willis' eyes. Well I guess you can, because he did, but anyway, Willis is obviously a feller who just has kind of given up.
Meanwhile, Mr. Shrilly-Voice Def is a witness in a crime, and at first it doesn't seem like it's a big deal, right? But then when Bruce stops his detective car at a liquor store some crazy guys decide to take out Mos Def. Bruce sobers up just long enough to move the plot along. It's soon after this that you find out that Mos Def is totally going to NARC out some dirty cops lead by David Morse.
Oh crap! I just remember how we ended up seeing this! Doy! Okay, so I love Superman. And this movie was directed by the guy who directed the 1978 Superman. I must have seen Richard Donner's name on the poster. Honestly, I don't remember seeing one trailer for this movie, but I am a busy bee. Well Richard Donner must have been pretty inspired by the material, because this is about the best thing he's done since Lethal Weapon 2. The movie is filled with one jarring and suspenseful scene after the next even though he does pull the ol' switcheroo one too many times. It could be that Donner found his inspiration in the locations he filmed. 16 Blocks is one of those rare films about NYC that was actually filmed in NYC, and it looks like a big nightmarish mess, but that's one of the things that makes the movie so worthwhile.
Another great part of the movie is Bruce Willis' transition from dead-eyed drunk to clever crackerjack cop. At one point in the movie David Morse's villain says they need to catch Willis "before he gets his legs back." And you definitely see why Morse was concerned. It turns out that Willis is not only a better cop than the guys who are chasing him, but he knows the city really well and he uses that to his advantage plenty.
The movie is filled with plenty of twists and turns throughout, and honestly if you leave out Mos Def's terribly irritating voice then you really have a fun action movie. Kind of old school. Kind of gritty. Oh and pay attention during the ambulance scene for one of the best laughs I've had in a movie in a long time.
