16 Blocks
Starring Bruce Willis, Mos Def, David Morse
Written by Richard Wenk and Directed by Richard Donner

All you have to do is transport a witness 16 blocks. Sounds simple enough doesn’t it? But you know whenever something appears to be too simple, it usually means it is cloaked in complexity. Thus the premise for the latest Dick Donner flick, 16 Blocks.

Bruce Willis is back playing the character he always plays best, a rough around the edges cop that has a really good heart. Hey, he plays it well, so why mess with a good thing. His job in 16 Blocks starts out looking very routine, but soon turns into one of the longest mornings of his life. All he has to do is transport a motor-mouth, wise-cracking witness played by ex-rapper, Mos Def, 16 blocks to the nearest courthouse. That’s it. Less than ten minutes later, bullets start flying, people start running, buses are hijacked, good cops turn bad, and somehow Bruce Willis and Mos Def’s characters find redemption. Sound like fun? It is.

16 Blocks follows in the traditions of films like Speed and Nick of Time -- using the element of a time deadline for urgency and a simplistic setting to engage the viewer’s imagination. Having done Lethal Weapon and the original Superman, Richard Donner is no stranger to action rolled up in good storytelling and he definitely shows us that in 16 Blocks. The action is smart, suspenseful, and just plain fun. 16 Blocks is simply a complex action film.


THE RUNDOWN:

The Good: Simple, but above average action fare.

The Bad: Some minor cliches, but easily overlooked.

The Law: 16 Blocks is nothing incredibly special, but definitely worth at least one viewing.