Rating of
2/4
"16 Blocks" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 02/09/16
An ageing, washed up detective is given the task of escorting a witness to his courtroom deposition but is intercepted by a cabal of corrupt colleagues intent on stopping them by any means necessary. Richard Donner is a veteran of the mainstream Hollywood action genre and on paper at least, the idea of combining 48 Hours with The Gauntlet seems sound enough. What made those films work however were Clint Eastwood's charisma and a liberal dose of 70s cool and the comic chemistry between its stars respectively. This film fails in both these departments. Far from charming the audience, Mos Def's incessant nasal ramblings serve only to wear on the nerves and although Donner handles the action sequences reliably enough, the plot is so lacking in imagination that it feels like its treading water for the whole duration. 16 Blocks is completely by the numbers yet too mediocre to hate.
