16 Blocks (2006)

Director:

Richard Donner

Writer (WGA):

Richard Wenk (written by)

Release Date:

3 March 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

For a New York cop and his witness, the distance between life and death just got very short.

Plot:

An aging cop is assigned the ordinary task of escorting a fast-talking witness from police custody to a courthouse. There are however forces at work trying to stop prevent them from making it.

Plot Keywords:

Courthouse | Witness | Corrupt Cop | Nypd | Alcoholic

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Bruce Willis	...	Det. Jack Mosley
Mos Def	...	Eddie Bunker
David Morse	...	Det. Frank Nugent
Jenna Stern	...	Diane Mosley
Casey Sander	...	Capt. Dan Gruber
Cylk Cozart	...	Det. Jimmy Mulvey
David Zayas	...	Det. Robert Torres
Robert Racki	...	Det. Jerry Shue
Patrick Garrow	...	Touhey
Sasha Roiz	...	Kaller
Conrad Pla	...	Ortiz
Hechter Ubarry	...	Maldonado
Richard Fitzpatrick	...	Deputy Commissioner Wagner
Peter McRobbie	...	Mike Sheehan
Michael F. Keenan	...	Ray Fitzpatrick (as Mike Keenan)

Also Known As:

16 Blocks (Germany)
Sixteen Blocks (USA) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, intense sequences of action, and some strong language.

Runtime:

USA:105 min | Philippines:110 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:12A | Ireland:12A | Singapore:PG | Brazil:14 | Germany:12 | Finland:K-11 | South Korea:15 | Malaysia:U | Netherlands:12 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Sweden:11 | Hungary:16 | Australia:M | Argentina:Atp | Portugal:M/12 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Denmark:11 | Norway:15 | USA:PG-13 (Certificate #41681)

Filming Locations:

Casey's Bar - 613 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Alcon Entertainment

Trivia:

In order to make Det. Jack Mosley's limp look realistic on screen, Bruce Willis put a pebble in his shoe and kept it there throughout the length of the shoot.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After the hostages are released and Eddie runs back to the bus, Jack opens the front doors to let him back on. Before he touches the door handle, it is pointed all the way towards the back of the bus. With the handle in this position, both the front and rear doors of the bus would be open already.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jack Mosley: [tape recording] This is Detective Jack Mosley, Shield number 227. I guess this will be my last will and testament. This is for Diane. Now, they're gonna come talk to you and they're gonna tell you things. But what they tell you isn't really what happen. So Diane, I think you should know what really happened. I was trying to do a good thing.

Movie Connections:

References "Yûgiô" (1998)

Soundtrack:

Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe

some good elements but they fail to fully come together

"16 Blocks" features an aging Bruce Willis as a broken-down, burned out NYPD detective assigned to transport the key witness in a police corruption trial from his jail cell to the courthouse where he is scheduled to testify 16 blocks away. 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. For even though the low-keyed approach writer Richard Wenk and director Richard Donner have taken towards the material should have made this a more believable and realistic film than most in its genre, the filmmakers keep undercutting that truth by having the two fleeing gentlemen go through so many hairbreadth escapes that we begin to think that not only are these NYPD officers corrupt but amazingly incompetent as well. 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. The actors alone compensate for the underdeveloped script and the overall sense of ennui that permeates the film.