Die Hard with a Hangover?
Willis Plays Broken NY Cop in 16 Blocks

Eddie Bunker (Mos Def) is a career criminal who has copped a plea with the district attorney's office. He claims that he has changed, and plans to move to Seattle and start a new life. But detective Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) has seen it all before. He doesn't believe people can change. In the thriller 16 Blocks, director Richard Donner explores change, sacrifice, and redemption.

16 Blocks
Detective Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis, left) escorts petty criminal Eddie Bunker (Mos Def) to a grand jury in the thriller 16 Blocks. (Warner Bros, 2006)
Directed by: Richard Donner
Written by: Richard Wenk
Starring: Bruce Willis, Mos Def, David Morse, and Jenna Stern

Rated PG-13 (for violence, intense sequences of action, and some strong language)
Running time: 105 min.

FilmGuru's Rating : 9 out of 10.

Willis plays a rundown cop who lives for his next drink. At the end of a long night, Jack wants nothing more than to go home and lose himself in a bottle. But he is assigned the task of escorting a criminal to a grand jury. The job is nothing more than a quick run from lock-up to the courthouse, but those 16 blocks turn out to be on a very long road.

When Jack makes a stop at a liquor store, he emerges from the store in the nick of time to save Eddie's life. The two take off down the alley of Mosley's old neighborhood, looking for a place to hide. Backup quickly arrives in the form of Jack's old partner Frank (David Morse). The chatty Eddie grows quiet, however, when another cop shows up -- one that he recognizes.

The film becomes a race to get Eddie to the courthouse by 10:00, before the grand jury is released. But the entire system seems to be working against them and it is only a matter of time before Jack's luck finally runs out.

Willis does an amazing job in his portrayal of Jack. This is not the action hero I remember from my youth. He's weak, showing signs of alcoholism. His eyes are bloodshot and he is aging prematurely. He has a bum leg. Willis even put a rock in his shoe, to give him a pronounced limp for the duration of the filming.

Mos Def brings more realism to the film as Eddie. Eddie is a mousy guy, but he's got spirit. The weak character is strong in ways that offset Jack. While Jack is a man defeated by his own demons, Eddie is a man who wants to rise above his. Mos Def makes Eddie a heroic character while keeping him believable. My one criticism is Eddie's nasally voice, which is annoying and often difficult to understand.

Unlike Donner's Lethal Weapon movies, this isn't a buddy picture. Don't expect to see Bruce Willis doing his John McClane Die Hard thing. This is a film grounded in reality, and it happens almost in real time. In the end, it's the reality of the film that makes it so profound. It's not a story of heroes, but the story of ordinary men doing the right thing.