Review of 16 Blocks (2006) by Colin A — 26 Mar 2010

Mmm...I guess I liked it.

That was not the case when I first started watching it. First of all, the main characters, Bruce Willis' Jack Mosley and Mos Def's Eddie Bunker are not very likable; they came off as being too pathetic and too annoying respectively. I do not fault Bruce Willis or Mos Def for this because they played their parts very well; I just wished that they were given better lines and more material to work with. The only character I really liked was David Morse's role of Frank Nugent, the cold-hearted, corrupt cop who will do whatever is necessary to cover his tracks. The backstory behind the plot is shuffled around a lot because everyone always seems to be running around to much to explain it properly, though it was certainly done on purpose to create a sense of mystery about the whole situation. Still, it would have been better if they had slowed down a bit and gone into a little more detail. The movie also tries to push the moral message that people have the ability to change themselves, which at times feels forced, especially since the Mosley character seems to change a lot quicker than he should, even by movie standards.

Despite its flaws, I still ended finding the picture acceptable. The characters became gradually more tolerable, there were some good scenes with Willis and Morse both squaring off with each other, and there are a number of plot twists that are not brilliant in anyway but they at least make the movie seem a little more cleaver than it has you believe. Even the corny message seems to find a conformable place in the end. Therefore, I recommend this film, though preferably for a slow night.

P.S. In case anyone would like to know, there is an alternate ending on the DVD that, according to Richard Donner and writer Richard Wenk, was actually meant to be the original conclusion of the movie. After seeing it myself, I can say that they were wise not to use this ending because it would not have made a lot of sense and may have hurt the film to the point where it would not be worth watching at all.