16 Blocks

Plot synopsis:
Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) is an alcoholic, burned-out N.Y.P.D. detective. Despite a late shift the night before, his lieutenant orders him to escort a witness, Eddie Bunker (Mos Def), from local custody to the courthouse 16 blocks away to testify on a police corruption case before a grand jury at 10 a.m. Bunker tries to be friendly with Mosley, telling him of his aspirations to move to Seattle to become a cake baker with his sister who he has never met, but Mosley is uninterested, and stops at a liquor store. They are suddenly ambushed by a gunman, and Mosley drags Bunker to a local bar to take shelter and call for backup. Mosley's former partner, Frank Nugent (David Morse), and several other officers arrive. Nugent and his men are part of the corruption scheme, and he tells Mosley that Bunker is not worth defending as his testimony will likely out several officers with dirty hands, including Nugent. The corrupt cops try to frame Bunker for firing at an officer before they try to kill him. Mosley intervenes, rescuing Bunker and fleeing.
Mosley briefly stops at his sister Diane's (Jenna Stern) apartment to retrieve guns and ammo, and learns the police have already approached her about his activities today. He and Bunker take steps to further elude the police, and Mosley is wounded in the process. They become cornered in a run-down apartment building as Nugent and his men search floor by floor. Mosley calls the district attorney to arrange for help, but purposely gives the wrong apartment number, suspecting there is a mole involved. Mosley and Bunker are able to escape onto a passenger bus, and as the police follow them, Mosley is forced to treat the passengers as hostages. The bus crashes into a construction site and is soon surrounded by the ESU. Aware that Nugent will likely order the ESU to raid the bus, risking the safety of the passengers, Mosley allows the passengers to go free, using their cover to allow Bunker to sneak off the bus in the confusion. Mosley finds a tape recorder in the discarded possessions on the bus, and prepares a farewell message to Diane.
To his surprise, Bunker returns to the bus; while Nugent is ready to fire on him, Nugent is made to stand down by a superior officer. Bunker has come to see Mosley as his friend and wants to be there for him to see this through. Bunker's tenacity convinces Mosley to get to the courthouse, and he manages to drive the bus into an alley, temporarily blocking the police from following them. He finds that Bunker has been wounded, and calls Diane, a Paramedic, to bring an ambulance around to help, despite knowing she will be followed. Diane cares for Mosley and Bunker's wounds, though Bunker still needs further treatment at a hospital. As Diane's ambulance drives away, the police stop her but discover the ambulance is empty; she had a second ambulance pick up Mosley and Bunker that would not be under similar surveillance. Meanwhile, Mosley reveals to Bunker that should he testify, not only will Nugent be convicted but so would Mosley as one of the corrupt cops. Mosley gets off a block from the courthouse and wishes Bunker luck with his bakery, instructing the paramedic to take Bunker to the Port Authority and put him on a bus for Seattle. Bunker promises to send him a cake on his birthday.
Mosley continues to the courthouse, where the police and ESU are waiting for him, as well as the district attorney. Mosley enters the courthouse building through the underground garage, encountering Nugent alone, who tries unsuccessfully to dissuade him from testifying in Bunker's place. Mosley enters the courthouse proper, where one of Nugent's men (David Zayas) tries to shoot Mosley but is killed by one of the ESU snipers. Mosley informs the district attorney that he will testify in exchange for Bunker having his record expunged, also revealing that he had recorded the conversation with Nugent in the garage on the tape recorder, which he submits as evidence.
Two years later, Mosley is freed from prison. He celebrates his birthday with Diane and other friends, and is surprised to find that the cake had indeed come from Bunker, who has been successful in starting "Eddie & Jack's Good Sign Bakery" in Seattle.

Tags: violence, suspenseful, murder, flashback

Review:
A reviewer emailed me that "Midnight Run" not only has a story like "16 Blocks" but Bruce Willis' character Jack Mosley has a name that is a composite of the movie names for two of the leading roles in "Midnight Run": Robert De Niro's Jack Walsh and Yaphet Kotto's FBI Agent Alonzo Mosely.
Though the story may seem like déjà vu, the action is fast paced making this an exciting film to watch.Anyone who doubts that Bruce Willis can act needs only watch his standout performance in "Pulp Fiction" to see what depth this actor can bring to a demanding role.
Playing the part of an over the hill New York cop with a game leg, nothing to live for, and a drinking problem seems easy for Willis to make it all believable.The criminal, Eddie Bunker, Jack must deliver to testify within a certain time frame is played with gusto by hip-hop artist Mos Def. Eddie is the most verbose prisoner ever.
He gets all the scrap jobs that no one wants and one of these jobs brings him straight to Mos Def who plays Eddie, a very hard to understand, very talkative guy who has apparently witnessed something and is due to testify at 10 sharp.
It's a special buddy movie between a dreary , boozy cop magnificently played by Bruce Willis and a fast-talking prisoner well acted by Mos Def , detaching an agreeable chemistry .
It's a story that's character-focused throughout, with the emphasis on the developing relationship between Bruce Willis' detective and Mos Def's criminal.
David Morse, off our screens for too long, is as great as ever as the corrupt cop who becomes the nemesis of the heroes.While the film is not action-focused, there are some highly impressive set-pieces which strive for realism – the stand-out scene being the bus hostage rescue, of course.
In New York, the alcoholic and decadent detective Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) is assigned to deliver a prisoner to the court sixteen blocks far from his precinct in 118 minutes.
While driving to the tribunal, Jack is attacked by a group of corrupt cops and protects Eddie.In spite of being a flawed movie, "16 Blocks" is a good entertainment with lots of action and an optimistic, hopeful and commercial message in the end that people can change, with the redemption of Eddie and Jack.
However, something goes terribly awry when the cops who are the targets of his testimony attempt to knock off the witness, forcing Willis and his charge to run for their lives through the crowded streets and deserted back alleys of downtown Manhattan."16 Blocks" deserves points for at least attempting to provide a bit more in the way of characterization and theme than we are used to in run-of-the-mill police procedurals, but the film winds up falling flat despite the best of intentions and some first rate performances by Willis and Mos Def as the man whose life Willis feels compelled to protect.
Moreover, the schmaltzy, humanity-of-man ending, with its theme of mutually achieved salvation and redemption, comes across as a contrived piece of sentimental uplift that never rings true or convincing.What's good about the movie is its occasionally witty one liners and the performances by the actors in the two lead roles.
Willis, craggy-faced, gimpy and sporting a noticeable middle-age spread, is subtle and subdued in the role of a man who has grown apathetic and cynical over the years, and Mos Def makes a very compelling character out of Eddie Bunker, the criminal-with-a-heart-of-gold who never stops talking, but whose deadpan, singsong delivery endears him to the audience.
Except instead of buddy movie, it's beaten-down Bruce Willis and Mos Def racing against both clock and crooked cops.
The action unfolds in bursts and the movie would probably feel a lot more generic were it not for the character study involved.To that end, it's pretty good.
Yes, it's a Bruce Willis movie - and yes it's packed full of action/suspense - but what's unique about this film is the performances given by Willis, Def and especially David Morse.
However, in the case of the story line, I was very wrong.This film starts off getting you to know Jack Mosley as an alcoholic Detective who doesn't have much time for the criminal he has to escort Eddie (Mos Def).
By the end this became an okay crime drama as Bruce Willis plays a burnt out (alcoholic) NYPD detective escorting a small-time crook the (16 blocks) to a grand-jury session.Willis is impressive with his burnt-out-edness.
Bruce Willis gives one of his best acting performances as the alcoholic cop Det Jack Mosley I was not so convinced by the irritating performance by Mos Def of small time crook Eddie Bunker, who apparently is due to give evidence against another policeman at the courthouse 16 blocks away.
Bruce Willis plays a washed up cop given the assignment to take a witness (Mos Def) from the holding cell to the courthouse, a mere 16 blocks in two hours.
The thrill is in watching just how much action can take place on such a short journey, and in holding your breath to see who is going to win this dogfight.Willis' character is quite flawed, Mos Def's character is more than a little bit annoying, and some of the other cops are more than a little bit evil.
I'm surprised that Richard Donner managed to make a film so tepid.The rapidly ageing Bruce Willis plays a downbeat, alcoholic cop who is talked into transporting a witness (most definitely Mos Def) to the courthouse to testify against dirty cops.
Apart from all other variables this film is ruined by one thing and one thing only: Blabbermouth Mos DeF.My god, this is the first time I have EVER seen a fair-budget movie been wasted by something like this.
In 16 Blocks (2006) made by Richard Donner (whose films include Superman (1978), four Lethal Weapon movies, Maverick, Conspiracy Theory among others), Bruce Willis plays Jack Mosley, a tired broken drunk detective in NYC.
The kid, like everyone calls Eddie is going to testify against corruption and drug dealing within the very police department where Jack used to work and where he has long time friends and colleagues, including his former partner for many years, Det. Frank Nugent (David Morse).
Now Jack and Eddie are against New York's bravest and time is certainly not on their side while they are on the trip through 16 Blocks in Chinatown to make it in time to court and preferably alive.For the first 70 minutes I loved the film but then, the creators made an implausible turn in the script which made me cringe but even the way it turned, the movie was fun to watch -the combination of Action/Crime/Thriller almost always makes me happy.
Bruce Willis plays a cop who never faced the harsh realities of his past actions is drawn by the soft nature of Mos Def. The audience's empathy with the character grows and what made me like the plot was the pursuit of doing the right thing in the face of obstacles.
The plot was predictable, characters were one-dimensional, and the action was passable at best, but the worst part was having to listen to Mos Def's character as a ultra-stereotypical black small time criminal with a thick street accent banter on and on and on about nothing the whole length of the movie.
C Acting: Mos Def's character annoyed me so badly that I kept hoping his character would die in this movie, and the worst part is that I know he can do better, like he did in Be Kind Rewind.
Lethal Weapon" series director Richard Donner and wisecracking action-movie icon Bruce Willis shift down from the high-octane crime film spectacles that made their reputations for a thriller steeped in mortality and redemption.
And if Willis and Def lack buddy-bonding chemistry, they also discard the cliché of comic friction."16 Blocks" never quite transcends its origins as a high-concept action thriller, but the clean professionalism of Donner's direction, the low-key turn by Willis and the street-level heroics make it a satisfying piece of genre film-making.Those looking for another "Lethal Weapon" franchise from Donner won't find it: There's no room left for a sequel here, just an ending that feels satisfying and right.While "16 Blocks" may not last much past the month, it stands above much of what we've been offered this season.
16 Blocks would simply have been an average to mediocre action/cop movie if were not for one thing- the incredibly annoying performance given by Mos Def as Eddie Bunker.
Unfortunately the movie is largely centred around this character and his relationship to Jake Mosley (Bruce Willis) so given how irritating and badly written he is and how much screen time he has the movie is pretty much scuppered.Aside from that the movie still isn't particularly good.
I haven't seen many decent Action movies recently and this was actually very impressive, nice plot and twists and action filled sequences.The chemistry between Mos and Bruce was also what made this film stand out.
Both performed great in this film, and this has been Bruce's best performances over past 5 years, along with Sin City.I thought the film was very uplifting also, too often in life we judge a book by its cover and don't give second chances, well thats the impression i got from this anyway.Top action movie 8/10.
What intrigued me the most was Mos Def's character.Bruce Willis (who is getting very old, mind you) plays a burnt out cop who is hooked on drinking and has a pointless, boring life.
Mos Def plays a frequently convicted criminal, who has plans of change even though no one believes him.Our story starts off like a mindless action movie, but turns into an emotional friendship between 2 men who are almost the complete opposite of each other.
It takes the means of Bruce Willis wanting to do the right thing and Mos Def believing he can still do the right thing no matter how many wrongs he has done, to pull this movie through.Ed (Mos Def) has witnessed a crime pulled off by some dirty cops and is on his way from jail to the courthouse (the 16 Blocks) to testify.
(insert: sarcastic tone here) Now that you have your genre you would probably choose the "buddy-cop formula" because well it's perfect and has been done to death.After the test is complete, you hear that "over-the-hill" director Richard Donner and star Bruce Willis have read the script by mistake and are interested in making it a film.
It's a solid performance and it's probably the only thing the film does correct and makes sense.Mos Def has a lot of potential to be a good character actor.
This time staring the other great of the 80s cop movies genre - Bruce Willis.
Bruce Willis, non-stop action, and New York streets - it's a formula that's worked before, and it works again, better than ever, in "Sixteen Blocks," a 2006 film that also stars Mos Def and David Morse.
Hip-hop artist Mos Def is a natural - offbeat, funny, warm, and touching as Frank Bunker, a small-time crook with a nasal voice who wants to testify and get on with his new life; and David Morse, the kind doctor of "St. Elsewhere" is great as a desperate, mean as dirt cop.Richard Donner directs a good script at a brisk pace, but it's not just about buses crashing, it's about the characters, too; there's a slight twist at the end as well.
Even the watered-down, "Hollywood ending" version is better than most of the action movies is distribution, especially Willis' recent efforts.Mos Def gives one of those Oscar-overlooked performances.
It isn't your usual Bruce Willis runs into a room and blows everyone away.16 Blocks provides a fantastic story with great characters at every turn.
But with 16 Blocks, he turns in a passable excuse for an action movie that hits all the cliché notes for a film of it's type.Bruce Willis plays Jack Mosley, a New York cop who is on the edge of death, it seems.
Bruce Willis was pretty good in this film, he was convincing as his character, same with Mos Def, he played his character well and stole the show.
For constant chase scenes, great dialog, realistic acting by Bruce Willis and the smoky atmosphere, I give '16 Blocks' thumbs up for being a satisfying pursuit film with a deeper message.If you liked this I would recommend The Fugitive, Hostage, Inside Man..
Bruce Willis plays a tired, aging cop - which is appropriate for him, being a tired, again action star - who is transporting Mos Def sixteen blocks to the courthouse where he will testify against police corruption.
The film has an old-fashioned look and feel to it through-out, which may cause further distancing to the younger audience who may be more used to the flashy, kinetic Matrix movies, but to those who can see past this, we have an enjoyable and at times surprising little movie on our hands here.Willis is on pretty good form, certainly not the best type of work he's done with the hard-bitten cop role, but, as others have noted, a role he could pull off in his sleep but maybe one he's just a little tired of playing.
Between Mos Def's annoying but believable street-smart hustler to Bruce Willis's half drunken yet well-meaning anti-hero cop, this movie not only brings together the old and the new, this movie makes movie going worth the 12 dollars i paid.
Bruce Willis is good, Mos Def is great, and this film is underrated.
Bruce Willis is pretty good in this movie as a down on his luck cop who is asked to take a witness 16 blocks to the courthouse to testify.
On his way to get Eddie (Mos Def) to testify, Jack (Bruce Willis) runs into some trouble with some crooked cops who want Eddie dead because he's going to testify against a few cops.
It's like "The Shield" crossed with "The Gauntlet" set in a fictional Manhattan.Our attention is kept rapt in the performances of an understated Bruce Willis and Mos Def. Compared to his flashy action roles in previous Richard Donner directed films, Willis's alcoholic, paunchy, gimpy cop is similar to Clint Eastwood in "In the Line of Fire", particularly when you can see him thinking on his feet, such as in a very engaging hostage sequence with its ironic reference to "Speed".Mos Def, who has been good in small roles in such dramas as "The Woodsman" to "Lackawanna Blues", makes his character an effective chameleon with a heart here instead of what could have potentially just been a bug-eyed comic motormouth.
Donner effectively keeps a quiet background to the exchanges between Def and Willis, as their relationship raises this from a conventional action movie, almost bringing it to the level of another corrupt cop morality tale about doing the right thing, "Training Day".
The acting here is top-notch, Bruce Willis should get some credit for the amount of believability he brings as worn out, drunken cop (Jack Mosley) who is having a really long day and wants to rest, but before he can do that he has to take a witness (Eddie Bunker played by Mos Def) to court, 16 Blocks away in 2 hours but after an attempted murder of the witness fails.
16 Blocks-Go See It. I just saw 16 Blocks, I liked it, I think Mos Def is really good in it and if you are a Bruce Willis fan, you will enjoy it.
If you want to see an atypical Bruce Willis action movie with an interesting co-star this could be one for you.
Bruce Willis may be a much more major figure in the film industry despite his downfall ever since Cop Out, but he actually gives a performance that seems underwhelming compared to Mos Def's performance because Bruce Willis mostly plays his own character in real life, but despite that they both share great chemistry in the movie.
Mos Def plays a criminal and Bruce Willis plays a policeman and together they develop a subtle friendship throughout the movie much like the friendship between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the Lethal Weapon film series and I really enjoyed that.
The movie itself features plenty of action and shoot-em-up scenes and there are quite a few showdowns between Bruce Willis's character and the NYPD, which make things quite interesting.Richard Donner's film is about a washed-up, alcoholic NYPD detective named Jack Moseley who is given a simple task of escorting a witness sixteen blocks to a courthouse where a trial is taking place.
David Morse plays a good role as the corrupt cop always on Jack's tail.Overall, 16 Blocks is a highly entertaining action movie if one can forgive the action movie clichés and the annoying voice of Mos Def. The film breezes by in its rapid storytelling and there are a few moments of humor to be had.
I went yesterday to this movie's premiere and I really liked it.The film is very fun,it never bored me.There's a good twist near the ending,too.Mos Def has a very good performance on this movie.I think that,on this movie and on another movie called The woodsman,Def has a lot of talent.Director Richard Donner,after two consecutive false moves with Lethal weapon 4 and Timeline,did a very good movie.The movie kept me interested.A great thing about this movie is that Donner took this action movie to a realistic level.The characters are very well constructed,too.16 blocks is a very good and fun movie that I recommend..
A surprisingly good little thriller, 16 BLOCKS provides a tight, minimalist script, fine directing, excellent camera work, and standout performances by Bruce Willis, Mos Def, and David Morse.