While you were all out seeing Snakes on a Plane, I was home watching 16 Blocks. Richard Donner directed this one, with Bruce Willis as a haggard cop named Jack Mosely and Mos Def as Eddie Bunker, the prisoner Willis has to transport to the courthouse 16 blocks away. What's supposed to be a simple job is complicated by the fact that some very bad people, all of them cops, don't want Eddie to testify. Plenty of shooting, lots of chasing, numerous car and bus crashes (how did those bus tires get reinflated after the cops shot them out?), and of course a developing relationship between Jack and Eddie. The DVD comes with two versions of the movie, one with the theatrical ending and one with an alternate ending. [SPOILER ALERT: If you want to feel all upbeat and chipper, watch the theatrical one. If you're in a noir mood, go for the alternate.] Comparisons to other movies like The Gauntlet and Midnight Run are obvious, but this one can stand on its own. Willis and Mos Def after excellent, as is David Morse as the worst of the crooked cops. I was entertained almost all the way.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
16 Blocks
While you were all out seeing Snakes on a Plane, I was home watching 16 Blocks. Richard Donner directed this one, with Bruce Willis as a haggard cop named Jack Mosely and Mos Def as Eddie Bunker, the prisoner Willis has to transport to the courthouse 16 blocks away. What's supposed to be a simple job is complicated by the fact that some very bad people, all of them cops, don't want Eddie to testify. Plenty of shooting, lots of chasing, numerous car and bus crashes (how did those bus tires get reinflated after the cops shot them out?), and of course a developing relationship between Jack and Eddie. The DVD comes with two versions of the movie, one with the theatrical ending and one with an alternate ending. [SPOILER ALERT: If you want to feel all upbeat and chipper, watch the theatrical one. If you're in a noir mood, go for the alternate.] Comparisons to other movies like The Gauntlet and Midnight Run are obvious, but this one can stand on its own. Willis and Mos Def after excellent, as is David Morse as the worst of the crooked cops. I was entertained almost all the way.
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3 comments:
I enjoyed this one, too. Some critics were turned off by Mos Def's performance, with its shades of Jerry Lewis, but he was my favorite thing about the movie. Sounds like I may need to rent the DVD, though, to check out the noir ending.
I liked Mos Def's performance. He wasn't too Jerry Lewis for me.
I also liked the alternate ending.
Saw this in the theatre and really enjoyed it. Was actually surprised by how good it was. I'll have to check that alternate ending out on DVD sometime soon.
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