16 Blocks

Poster
Written by	Richard Wenk
Directed by	Richard Donner
Produced by	Avi Lerner Randall Emmett John Thompson Arnold Rifkin Jim Van Wyck
Starring	Bruce Willis Mos Def David Morse
Music by	Klaus Badeit
Editing by	Steven Mirkovich
Studio	Alcon Entertainment
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release Date	March 3, 2006
Rated	PG-13
Run time	110 minutes
Budget	$55 million
Grossed	$65 million

16 Blocks is a 2006 American crime thriller film directed by Richard Donner. It stars Bruce Willis, Mos Def, and David Morse. The film unfolds in the real time narration method.

16 Blocks can be considered a Die Hard scenario film because it takes place in an enclosed location (Manhattan, New York City) and features a bunch of armed assailants that the protagonist has to fight off.

16 Blocks is usually thought of as the best 'generation 2' Die Hard scenario films.

Plot

Jack Mosley is an alcoholic, burned-out New York City Police Department detective with a limp. Despite a late shift the night before, his lieutenant orders him to escort a witness, Eddie Bunker, from local custody to the courthouse 16 blocks away to testify on a police corruption case before a grand jury at 10 a.m. Bunker, a taxi driver, tries to be friendly with Mosley, telling him of his aspirations to move to Seattle to become a cake baker with his sister whom he has never met, but Mosley is uninterested, and stops at a liquor store. They are suddenly ambushed by a gunman, and Mosley drags Bunker to a local bar to take shelter and call for backup. Mosley's former partner, Frank Nugent, and several other officers arrive. Nugent and his men have ulterior motives, telling Mosley that Bunker is not worth defending as his testimony will likely out several officers, including Nugent, who are involved in the corruption scheme, and they try to frame Bunker for firing at an officer before they kill him. Mosley intervenes, rescuing Bunker and fleeing.

Mosley briefly stops at his sister Diane's apartment to retrieve guns and ammo, and learns the police have already approached her about his activities today. He and Bunker take steps to further elude the police, and Mosley is wounded in the process. They become cornered in a run-down apartment building as Nugent and his men search floor by floor. Mosley calls the district attorney to arrange for help, but purposely gives the wrong apartment number, suspecting there is a mole involved. Mosley and Bunker are able to escape onto a passenger bus, and as the police follow them, Mosley is forced to treat the passengers as hostages. The bus crashes into a construction site and is soon surrounded by the ESU. Aware that Nugent will likely order the ESU to raid the bus, risking the safety of the passengers, Mosley allows the passengers to go free, using their cover to allow Bunker to sneak off the bus in the confusion. Mosley finds a tape recorder in the discarded possessions on the bus, and prepares a farewell message to Diane.

To his surprise, Bunker returns to the bus; while Nugent is ready to fire on him, Nugent is made to stand down by a superior officer. Bunker has come to see Mosley as his friend and wants to be there for him to see this through. Bunker's tenacity convinces Mosley to get to the courthouse, and he manages to drive the bus into an alley, temporarily blocking the police from following them. He finds that Bunker has been wounded, and calls Diane, a Paramedic, to bring an ambulance around to help, despite knowing she will be followed. Diane cares for Mosley and Bunker's wounds, though Bunker still needs further treatment at a hospital. As Diane's ambulance drives away, the police stop her but discover the ambulance is empty; she had a second ambulance pick up Mosley and Bunker that would not be under similar surveillance. Mosley gets off a block from the courthouse and wishes Bunker luck with his bakery. Bunker promises to send him a cake on his birthday.

Mosley enters the courthouse through the underground garage, encountering Nugent alone. Nugent reveals that should Bunker testify, not only will Nugent be convicted but so would Mosley as one of the corrupt cops. Mosley ignores this and continues to the courthouse, where the police and ESU are waiting for him, as well as the district attorney. One of Nugent's men tries to shoot Mosley but he is killed by one of the ESU snipers. Mosley reveals that he will be testifying in Bunker's place, revealing that he had recorded the conversation with Nugent in the garage on the tape recorder and submits it as evidence.

Two years later, Mosley is freed from prison from his reduced sentence, while Nugent and others wait out longer sentences. He celebrates his birthday with Diane and other friends, and is surprised to find that the cake had indeed come from Bunker, who has been successful in starting "Eddie & Jack's Good Sign Bakery" in Seattle.

Cast

• Bruce Willis as Det. Jack Mosley
• Mos Def as Edward "Eddie" Bunker
• David Morse as Det. Frank Nugent
• Jenna Stern as Diane Mosley
• Casey Sander as Capt. Dan Gruber
• Cylk Cozart as Det. Jimmy Mulvey
• David Zayas as Det. Robert "Bobby" Torres
• Robert Racki as Det. Jerry Shue
• Patrick Garrow as Det. Touhey
• Sasha Roiz as Det. Kaller
• Jeff Kelly as Det. Shlong
• Conrad Pla as Det. Ortiz
• Hechter Ubarry as Det. Edward Maldonado
• Richard Fitzpatrick as Deputy Commissioner Wagner
• Peter McRobbie as Mike Sheehan
• Mike Keenan as Ray Fitzpatrick
• Robert Clohessy as Sgt. Cannova
• Jess Mal Gibbons as Pederson
• Tig Fong as Briggs
• Brenda Pressley as ADA MacDonald
• Kim Chan as Sam
• Carmen Lopez as Gracie
• Scott McCord as Lt. Kincaid

Production

• Willis originally wanted rapper Ludacris to play the part of Eddie Bunker.

• During filming, Bruce Willis placed a pebble in his shoe to imitate a limp.

• 16 Blocks is the second film in which David Morse plays the villain to Bruce Willis as the protagonist; the first was 1995's Twelve Monkeys, in which Morse plays Dr. Peters.

16 Blocks - Trailer

Reception

16 Blocks recieved mixed to positive reviews from critics. One positive review came from Roger Ebert. 16 Blocks currently maintains a 55% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

External Links

• Official website
• 16 Blocks at the Internet Movie Database
• 16 Blocks at Wikipedia