The biggest pro of 16 Blocks is its simple concept – a old cop (Bruce Willis equipped with one world class poon broom) must take a wiseass perp (Mos Def, happy to have survived Hitchhiker’s) 16 blocks to NYPD’s 1st Precinct at 100 Centre Street. And of course along the way all kinds of madness happens. Sixteen blocks is a long way in New York City.
The biggest con is its director, Richard Donner, who maybe should have been forced to retire after Timeline, a movie so bad it could have ended our civilization had anyone actually seen it. I love Donner’s old work as much as anybody, but he hasn’t made an honestly good movie since 1994’s Maverick, which isn’t even all that great.
The poster for 16 Blocks gives me some more hope – it’s stylized and seems like it could have hung on a theater wall in the 70s. Or like a poster for HBO’s The Wire. Either way, it’s a nice bit of design.
Of course it’s silly to have your opinions changed by posters or trailers – which are made by people who didn’t make the actual film – but I have that kind of whimsical streak.