16 BLOCKS

 

 

 

16 Blocks stars Bruce Willis and rapper/actor Mos Def. In the film, Willis plays a burned-out alcoholic detective named Jack Mosley who is recruited to escort a newly-freed prisoner named Eddie Bunker--played by Def--who is scheduled to testify at a police corruption hearing. Of course, the corrupt cops whom Eddie is supposed to be testifying against aren't too happy about this so they try to have him killed. At first, they try to persuade Jack to look the other way while they off him, but he has an abrupt change-of-heart and decides to protect Eddie at all costs even though it turns out he's just as "corrupt" as they are. In the end, after being forced to hijack a bus, Mosley decides to let Bunker go and testify in his place instead since, as he sees it, he's just as "guilty" as the rest of them. I think I should point out that, though Willis plays a cop in this flick, don't expect a Die Hard-style action flick as this film is more dramatic than those in the Die Hard film franchise. And the Jack Mosley character is arguably truer-to-life than the John McClane character. So, in other words, there's no "Yippee-ki-yay, M.F.-er!" in this particular flick. With that being said, there's still quite a bit of action in this flick enough to probably satisfy even the most, er, die hard Die Hard fan. And this flick gives Bruce Willis a chance to stretch his acting chops a bit. One drawback to this film is that Mos Def's character probably has the most irritating movie voice in cinematic history!