16 Blocks (2006)

An aging cop is assigned the ordinary task of escorting a fast-talking witness from police custody to a courthouse. There are however forces at work trying to stop prevent them from making it.

Director:

Richard Donner

Writer:

Richard Wenk

Stars:

Bruce Willis, Mos Def, David Morse

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Willis	...	Det. Jack Mosley
Mos Def	...	Eddie Bunker
David Morse	...	Det. Frank Nugent
Jenna Stern	...	Diane Mosley
Casey Sander	...	Capt. Dan Gruber
Cylk Cozart	...	Det. Jimmy Mulvey
David Zayas	...	Det. Robert Torres
Robert Racki	...	Det. Jerry Shue
Patrick Garrow	...	Touhey
Sasha Roiz	...	Kaller
Conrad Pla	...	Ortiz
Hechter Ubarry	...	Maldonado
Richard Fitzpatrick	...	Deputy Commissioner Wagner
Peter McRobbie	...	Mike Sheehan
Michael F. Keenan	...	Ray Fitzpatrick (as Mike Keenan)

Storyline

Jack Mosley, a burnt-out detective, is assigned the unenviable task of transporting a fast-talking convict from jail to a courthouse 16 blocks away. However, along the way he learns that the man is supposed to testify against Mosley's colleagues, and the entire NYPD wants him dead. Mosley must choose between loyalty to his colleagues and protecting the witness, and never has such a short distance seemed so long...

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Plot Keywords:

detective | courthouse | witness | jail | convict | 

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Taglines:

For a New York cop and his witness, the distance between life and death just got very short.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, intense sequences of action, and some strong language

Details

Official Sites:

CMC [tw] Metropolitan Filmexport [fr]

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 March 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

16 blocs

Filming Locations:

Casey's Bar - 613 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$52,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$13,986 (Chile) (24 November 2006)

Gross:

$13,986 (Chile) (24 November 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alcon Entertainment, Millennium Films, Emmett/Furla Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's writer, Richard Wenk, has reported that he originally conceived of the project with himself as writer and director and, before shopping it around to anyone else, first approached Richard Donner because they had a struck up a good relationship when Donner really liked his rewrite of a script for a Lethal Weapon 4, even though that script was not used. Wenk said that upon hearing his pitch for his new film, Donner "liked it so much that he didn't want me to direct it; he wanted to direct." Wenk tells this story in the documentary about screen writing, Tales from the Script.

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Goofs

After Eddie gets back on the bus, and Jack smashes through parked police cars down the alley, you clearly see that the tyres which had previously been shot out and had come loose have returned and are fully inflated.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jack Mosley: [tape recording] This is Detective Jack Mosley, Shield number 227. I guess this will be my last will and testament. This is for Diane. Now, they're gonna come talk to you and they're gonna tell you things. But what they tell you isn't really what happen. So Diane, I think you should know what really happened. I was trying to do a good thing.

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits save the title "16 BLOCKS".

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Connections

References Crash (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Besame"
Written by Ed McCoyd (Spanish translation by Edwin Perez)
Performed by Mystico
Published by Ed McCoyd Music (SESAC)
Courtesy of Blast Music Management

User Reviews

excellent suspense

This movie was an excellent surprise. It starts slow, but stay with it. Your first look at Bruce Willis as the burnt-out over the hill cop tells you this will not be the normal shoot-em-up cop drama. The plot starts building almost instantly, unlike many movies where you have to wait through thirty minutes of fluff before the story goes anywhere. The characters in the movie are surprisingly endearing, honest and genuine. They're just normal enough to identify with. Not the standard super evil villain and valiant good guy. Bruce Willis is awesome in his role as the tired underdog struggling with the morality of torn loyalty. Mos Def, whose character's voice was a little aggravating, played an excellent supporting role. The relationship he develops with Willis'character is both surprising and humorous. Overall, the movie was tense from the start and is filled with suspense, humor and a great deal of drama. It takes some unexpected turns and has a great ending. I highly recommend it.