16 Blocks

Burnt-out detective Jack Mosley (Willis) has just spent a long night at a crime scene, when he's tasked with transporting an important federal witness (Mos Def) sixteen blocks to a courthouse where he'll testify in an important case. But things are not as straight-forward as it would initially seem, when it turns out everyone and their granny wants to off his witness. Seen as something of a return to form for director Donner and his star, 16 Blocks is a well acted and proficiently directed, but hugely flawed addition to a tired genre. To see an actor of Willis's stature actually play their age for once is both refreshing and somewhat original for a film of its type, with Mos Def offering surprisingly solid support as the career criminal looking for a way out. But the problem with 16 Blocks is the flimsy script, most notably an under-written sub-plot involving Mosley's past that holds the film back when it should be driving it towards an action- packed conclusion. When the conclusion does come around, it does so with a whimper; and its ending quickly turns unrealistically sugar-coated for what initially seemed like a ballsy move. Jack is obviously a guy with a lot of unresolved issues, but spelling them out fleetingly over one or two scenes undermines Willis's accomplished performance. Donner should either have done the back story properly and given the character some depth, or went for the action and let his leading man's well travelled charisma carry it through. Instead we're given a bit of both and ultimately, it hurts the film. Unremarkable but enjoyable enough, thanks to solid performances from its leads and a director who knows the genre like the back of his hand.