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16 Blocks

The title 16 Blocks refers to the distance that New York police detective Jack Mosley (played by Bruce Willis) must go to transfer ex-con and witness Eddie Bunker (Mos Def) to a courthouse to testify for the District Attorney before a grand jury. The assignment seems simple, and in fact, Mosley is given the job because it is supposed to be just that. However, since this is an action film starring Bruce Willis, it is practically a given that bullets will start flying, making the 16-block trip seem much longer, more difficult, and definitely more hazardous.

As it turns out, Eddie is testifying against another New York detective, who is corrupt, and if that detective goes down, he will take other corrupt members in the NYPD, including Mosley’s old partner of 20 years, Frank Nugent (David Morse), with him. To prevent Eddie from testifying, Nugent and a group of other detectives try to track him down and kill him, searching through the crowded New York streets and buildings as Mosley and Eddie try to make the 16 blocks to the courthouse to see justice done.

Willis and Mos Def both give good performances here. Willis as Mosley sports a paunch in his belly, a mustache, and a limp. He also gets out of breath easily, all traits that help distance him from another law enforcement character he has played—John McClane of the Die Hard films. Like McClane, however, Mosley seems, for most of the movie, to be the character who was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and who must then do the right thing by protecting Eddie and seeing him safely to the courthouse. I say “seems” because Eddie is a big believer in “signs,” and later on, both men come to feel that they were supposed to meet, but Mosley’s reasoning for their meeting gives the plot a nice twist. Mos Def, who I have really only seen in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, gets Eddie’s optimism and chatty quirkiness across and gives a different performance from his cool Ford Prefect in The Hitchhiker’s Guide.

Written by: Jessica Chung

Reviewers Rating: 9
Reader's Rating: 8.50
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