16 Blocks - Austin American-Statesman movie review

'16 Blocks' thinks small, but that's OK

By JOHN DeFORE
Austin American-Statesman

There's something inherently appealing about "16 Blocks," in which Hollywood players who spend their share of time on overblown product — director Richard Donner, of the "Lethal Weapon" franchise, and Bruce Willis — bite off a smaller chunk of plot and at least shoot for something gritty and real. Yes, there will be SWAT teams and a runaway bus careening through parked cars, but the story's core is about as stripped-down as an action film can be.

Warner Brothers Pictures

'16 Blocks'

3 out of 5 stars

The verdict: An enjoyable ride.

Director: Richard Donner
Starring: Bruce Willis, Dante 'Mos Def' Smith, David Morse, David Zayas, David Sparrow
Run time: 105 minutes
Release date: March 3, 2006
Rating: PG-13 for violence, intense sequences of action, and some strong language.
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Willis plays a waste-of-space Manhattan cop whose morning hair-of-the-dog routine is interrupted by an assignment: ferry petty thief Mos Def from a holding cell to the downtown courthouse, where he's the eyewitness in a police corruption case. The short trip gets a lot longer when, in a nicely done sequence, two men ambush Willis' car and try to kill the witness. Soon we realize that a crew of bad cops are bent on keeping this bird from singing to the D.A.

That gang is led by Willis' longtime partner (David Morse), who soothingly begs the boozehound to do what he always does — mess up the job — and lose track of Mos Def just long enough for him to be eliminated. Willis has little trouble acknowledging his general worthlessness ("Life is too long," he moans at one point), but open collaboration with evil is a bit too much. The cat-and-mouse act begins.

There's not much here that we haven't seen before, but it adds up to an enjoyable ride through Bowery alleys and Chinatown rooftops. Donner gets a good feel for the unshowy locations, and keeps the photography tight and tense.

Clearly nodding to classic New York standoffs such as "Dog Day Afternoon" — a healthy chunk of the real-time action has Willis forced to take hostages on a public bus — the movie generates just enough human interest for us to stick with it.

It's not vintage Sidney Lumet or William Friedkin, but it's more welcome than another "Lethal Weapon" or, heaven help us, Donner's 2003 "Timeline."