Kim Gentes

Willis & Mos Def scrape grit into good film

Bruce Willis has been the perrenial scruffy tough guy, usually a cop. But never have you seen him in such a human, broken role as 16 Blocks Jack Mosley. Not a good cop with quirk or even a single lapse of moral failure, instead, Mosley is an entrenched cop with moral decay leading him to drink himself into the grave. On-the-job drunk, overweight, and depressed, Mosley is simply medicating himself into retirement or suicide, whichever comes first. But before he can get there he has to take a lowlife criminal (Dante Smith/Mos Def) to a court appointment. From there, the story erupts into its plot without looking back to fill in the details for those who were eating their popcorn when the clues are being dropped.

In the style of 24, but with much less glitsy Hollywood techno-gadgetry, 16 Blocks is a relatively simple tale of police corruption laced with good old fashion action and gun play. Interwoven are some poignant camera and effects, especially in the opening shooting scene, where time lapse and perspective/camera rotation, grab you into the film. But all of this is downplayed and not hyped to have you forget the plot, or the two main characters.

There are some weaknesses in the film, but none of them are backdoor, unbelieveable rescues or problem solving. It's smart, it's fast, and it's good cop action. Towards the end, there is good real tension in a situation where Willis and Smith's characters have their last scene together. You really aren't sure what Willis will do, and you feel like the film could go either way. This makes the movie seem much more real because you realize, like real life, it could go either way. You feel like what happens does so because of the thinking of the characters, not because the script writer demands a dark or feel-good movie.

Even more satisfying is that the main character has to pay for his moral failures. This film is not gratuitious in the filming of violence, though it is a action flick. Is it realistic? It depends. The action itself is still pretty Hollywood-esque, but the characters are smart, human and worthwhile learning about.

This is a film you will like, especially if you are tired of the same old garbage plots that seem to accompany action films, but also don't want to miss out on some shoot em' up police drama. Lave the kids home for this one, as the rating means it - 13 and under should not watch this. Not gory, but definitely strong language. Turns out to be actually a decent film for a date night, if its the guys turn to pick. The gals won't mind the violence (since it isn't constant), but they will like the humor interspersed and the moral dealings of Jack Mosley.