Review of 21 Bridges (2019) by Urban68 — 25 Nov 2019

21 Bridges: a review by James H Roby.

At a time when a stark divide exists between the police and the African American community, it might be a little risky releasing a motion picture containing those two populations. But when the picture is helmed by producers and an actor of literal super heroic proportions, I’d say it’s an even bet. 21 Bridges starring the hero, Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), and produced by the Russo Brothers (Avengers: Endgame) is a thrill ride we haven’t seen the likes of in a while. Boseman’s character, Andre Davis, is a second generation NYC policeman with unquestionable ethics but, well, slightly more questionable methods. He’s got eight shootings under his belt in ten years. So when a pair of crooks murder seven cops in a robbery gone wrong, the police puts the cop killer killer on the case. After all, he’s the best man for the job…or is he?

There’s a twist of sorts in the movie that’s not terribly deep, still it pushes the plot forward. What should be a simple manhunt quickly devolves into a mystery and Andre won’t let go until he’s found the truth. The movie is fast paced and has the feel of a modern techno-thriller with various elements of the NYPD coming together to track down the killers. There’s also some ‘required’ moments found in every action movie and Boseman delivers perfectly. There’s one scene featured in the trailers where Andre reminds a white FBI agent to have perfect diction when referring to him as a ‘trigger’. That’s about as deep as the movie goes into America’s current Black vs Blue dilemma and really that’s enough. Otherwise, Andre Davis is a cop’s cop – vowing to do anything for his ‘family’ (the police) and threatening to flood Manhattan with ‘blue’ to catch his criminals. Boseman is backed up with a great cast of Sienna Miller as Frankie Burns, Andre’s partner for the manhunt and J. K. Simmons as police Captain Matt McKenna, stepping out of his familiar role of the Farmers Insurance man and Spider-Man’s nemesis, J Jonah Jameson. Add to the list Stephan James as Michael Trujillo and Taylor Kitsch as Ray Jackson, the movie’s villains. The relatively short run time of 110 minutes actually works in the movie’s favor as it keeps the picture tight with few wasted scenes. The only faults I felt was the soundtrack didn’t seem to match the onscreen action and the story’s somewhat simple mystery.

Here’s hoping Chadwick Boseman will don Andre Davis’ badge after his next appearance as the Black Panther.

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