16 Blocks Reviews

Since I heard some pretty good things about this flick and since I have a weak spot for Bruce Willis, I was really eager to check out this movie. It was also the last movie directed by Richard Donner (did he actually retire? ) and it was a huge improvement on his previous directing effort, the rather lame ‘Timeline’. Anyway, after all these years, Bruce Willis remains my favorite action stars but, I have to admit it, nowadays, he is actually way too old to play most of his parts. Fortunately, this movie is however an exception and shows he could do something else and play some more believable characters. At last, Bruce Willis plays an old cop and not some kind of super hero and I think he pulled it off very well. Mos Def, an actual hip-hop artist and not a 'real' actor, delivered a good performance as well and I think they were together a good combination. Of course, the plot was pretty pedestrian and rather predictable but it was still entertaining enough in my opinion. To conclude, it is nothing exceptional but it remains a good action flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you want to see Bruce Willis doing something rather different than his usual stuff.

I did not like this movie. Mos Def was the closest to comic relief this movie got. It is dull, cliched, and confusing. A bunch of times I kept thinking I'd missed a scene. There is no back-round story to the main character, which makes a lot of the scenes confusing. The story is one you might find on a season of 24. Only 24 adds suspense, and good action sequences. In this movie it's just them walking around most of the time. The only thing I liked about this movie were the performances of Bruce Willis and Mos Def. Other than that, it was a suspense-less, snore-fest, not worth your time. 1.2

Being a fan of Bruce Willis, I must admit this is one of my least favorite roles he's done. If you're an aging action star, best to swtich to dramatic or even comic roles (like he did in Whole Nine Yards). Playing an old aging rundown cop, I don't know, it just didnt feel right.

The thrill/suspense factor was decent, but the plot line is too regurgitated - typical 'evil corrupt cops conspiracy trying to silence a witness'. come on, why go thru such extreme measures, if the witness is going to a trial to give testimony vs corrupt cops, why entrust him into police custody in the first place? Just beat him down in jail like they do now.

But what made me give this movie a low grade is the ANNOYING Mos Def. Man, am I the only one that would rather hear the sounds of two cats fighting, or an annoying beagle howling, than to hear his voice? And I'm not talking about the stutter of the character (that was annoying enough), I'm talking about the whinning nassal voice of his. ugh!

Mos Def is proving a successful transition from musician to actor is not as difficult as having to carry a stutter and Bruce Willis on his back. Mos puts on a spectacular performance and outshines his onscreen partner Willis.