![]() ![]() Here he starts with three good performances: Willis, world-weary and yet with a spark of defiance Mos Def, whose speaking role is more or less the same as the movie's running time and David Morse, evil and bureaucratic in equal measure. The movie has been directed by Richard Donner, a specialist in combining action, chase scenes and humor (see " Lethal Weapon," etc). Of course, it's a good question whether Eddie is really the nutty motormouth he seems to be, but that's not something Jack has the time to determine right now. Unlike last week's " Running Scared," which was pitched a few degrees above manic, "16 Blocks" is more of a character study, a two-hander about how Jack has been fed up with the department for a long time, and Eddie's sweet, goofy nature tilts the balance. That's the setup for "16 Blocks," which is a chase picture conducted at a velocity that is just about right for a middle-age alcoholic. Now they are both on the same side of the law. Just when Eddie is about to be killed in the bar, Jack shoots a cop and saves Eddie's life. But there's something about Eddie Bunker, something about his innocence, something about his naive trust in Jack, something about the way he won't shut up, that somehow gets to Jack. He's wise to the crooked cops because he's one of them himself. He is one of the people who wants to prevent Eddie Bunker from testifying. Frank Nugent ( David Morse), his chief, is the linchpin of a ring of corruption and drug dealing within the department. He figures out someone wants the witness dead, and so he takes him to a friendly saloon and calls his superior officer. Coming out, he sees the wrong kind of guy making the wrong kinds of moves on the witness in the car, and he shoots the guy, which is admirable decision-making under the circumstances. Eddie has the kind of voice that makes fingernails on a blackboard sound like Kenny G. Jack goes to get the guy, who is named Eddie Bunker and is played by Mos Def as a motormouth who talks all the time, and I mean all the time, in a litany of complaints about his treatment, his life and his fate. The witness has to arrive in two hours, before the grand jury's term expires. But his boss assigns him to transport a witness 16 blocks to a grand jury hearing. The he goes back to headquarters, where the receptionist gives him breath mints. He pours himself a drink and sits down to wait for the uniforms. As the film opens, he's surrounded by dead bodies and spilled cocaine and is told by an officer, "Sit on this until the uniforms get here." Jack rummages around in the apartment until he finds what he wants: A bottle. Bruce Willis plays Jack Mosley, a tired drunk, in "16 Blocks." He's a detective who doesn't have the energy to be a cop. ![]()
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