The action thriller 16 Blocks has a burnt-out cop Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) leading a nervous witness Eddie Bunker (Mos Def) to testify in front of a grand jury downtown. Mosley is a sub-par cop, who gets stuck with the assignments no-one else is up for. After being forced to escort Bunker 16 blocks by his captain, Mosley quickly learns that Eddie is not the average witness, but is being sent downtown to testify against corruption and crooked cops in Jack's department. The movie picks its pace up as a chase to get to the courthouse alive with the witness begins, but time remains a factor. Mosley must bring Eddie to testify before 10AM, when the jury will declare its verdict, giving him approximately 2 hours.

The portrayal of Jack Mosley may be one of Willis' worst characters to date. Rather than having the same air of a competent but tired and old man as he did in Sin City, Mosley remains almost emotionless throughout the film, making him bland and un-exciting to watch. Willis plays his character well, but the character of Mosley is fundamentally flawed by being written as emotion-less. Interestingly, Mos Def picks up his own performance nicely, and it can be seen that the role was almost written in for Def. Bunker is an energetic young man, who doesn't hesitate to say exactly what's on his mind. This makes him entertaining and fun to watch, and helps to even out the mood created by Mosley.

Unfortunately, the acting in 16 Blocks is the highpoint of the movie. The corrupt cop theme has been played out, and this film brings nothing new to the table. What looks to have potential as a clever cat and mouse chase turns out to have obvious plot twists, and shows cops at their dumbest. Some of the things pulled off not only seem un-impressive, but are a serious stretch to reality. 16 Blocks contains no good surprises, and uses action music and constant camera switching to help build suspense instead of intelligent plot turns. A real disappointment this time.

Reviewed By: m.jizzLe