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"16 BLOCKS" (2006) (Bruce Willis, Mos Def) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Moderate Extreme Moderate Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild Mild Heavy None Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence None Minor Minor Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Action/Drama: A burned out New York City cop tries to outwit and outmaneuver a bunch of bad cops who want to prevent him from transporting a witness sixteen blocks to the courthouse where he's going to testify against them. PLOT: Jack Mosley (BRUCE WILLIS) is a burned out New York City cop with a drinking problem and overall tired attitude about his job and life. Accordingly, he's not thrilled to learn he must transport petty criminal Eddie Bunker (MOS DEF) from the local lockup to the courthouse sixteen blocks away. Along the way, however, he learns that someone wants Eddie dead as he thwarts an attempt on the criminal's life. Taking refuge in a nearby establishment, Jack learns what's really occurring when his former partner of twenty years, Frank Nugent (DAVID MORSE), arrives with a handful of other cops. It seems that Eddie is a key witness set to testify against a number of bad cops, and Frank says they can't allow that to happen. But when Frank tells Jack to go home and it seems the cops are going to execute Eddie right there, the hung-over cop with a bad leg takes matters into his own hands. Shooting one bad cop in the leg and holding a shotgun on Frank, he gets Eddie and the two manage to escape. Back on the streets and facing a deadline of getting the witness to the courthouse by 10:00, Jack does what he can to traverse those sixteen blocks, all while Frank and a growing number of cops try to stop him. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of Willis, Def or urban action flicks, they just might. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For violence, intense sequences of action, and some strong language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: BRUCE WILLIS plays a tired and worn out cop with a drinking problem who isn't happy to have to transport Eddie the chatterbox to the courthouse. But he then finds himself defending him from Frank and other corrupt cops who want the witness dead. He uses some profanity. MOS DEF plays a talkative criminal who's trying to turn his life around by becoming a baker, but is in danger when Frank and other bad cops want him dead to prevent him from testifying against them. He uses profanity. DAVID MORSE plays Jack's ex partner of 20 years who wants Eddie dead. He uses profanity (some of it strong) and tries to kill Eddie while repeatedly giving Jack chances to walk away. He then lies to his superiors about what's really occurring. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this PG-13 rated action film. Profanity consists of at least 2 "f" words (and another possible one), while other expletives and colorful phrases are also used. Violence consists of several people being shot to death, others being wounded from gunfire, and additional shooting at others. Some of that has bloody results (although not as much as probably expected) and those scenes and other moments of potential peril may be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers. Various characters (mostly cops) have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while some drinking occurs and it's implied the lead character is hung-over and has a drinking problem. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's bouncy camera footage from time to time in the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE There might be drugs on the table in an apartment that the cops burst in and raid. After being told not to touch anything at a crime scene, Jack retrieves a bottle of wine from a cabinet, sits on the sofa and drinks some of it. Jack gets a bottle of liquor from his desk drawer, but the bottle's empty. When Jack makes a pit stop at a liquor store to buy some, Eddie half-jokes that it "isn't Miller time." After taking refuge in a liquor store, Jack guzzles down a shot. There are several comments about Jack being hung-over. Seeing an old photo of Jack where he's smiling, Eddie jokes that Jack was probably drinking then as well. When Jack then goes off into another room (to retrieve his gun), Eddie says there's no time to get high. We see some beer bottles in front of adults at a birthday party. BLOOD/GORE A dead miscellaneous man has some blood on him. We see some blood on a car door after Jack has shot a bad guy there, and he pulls the dead body out of the shattered window. We see a little blood on a cop's leg after he's been shot there. Jack's hand is bloody after he's shot there (several views, including a somewhat bloody wrap around his hand, as well as a closer view as he washes the rather bloody wound). Jack has some blood on his shirt. We see that Eddie was hit by gunfire (his shirt and suit jacket have some blood on them), but we later learn it was an entrance and exit type wound that will only require stitches and is not life threatening. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Frank and all of the bad cops who want to stop Jack and kill Eddie obviously have extreme cases of bad attitudes. After being told not to touch anything at a crime scene, Jack retrieves a bottle of wine from a cabinet, sits on the sofa and drinks some of it. A cop refers to Eddie as "a little hemorrhoid." Frank lies to his superiors about what's occurring, telling them Jack has gone off the deep end and has kidnapped a busload of people. Frank admits to being responsible for a man's death but doesn't see anything wrong with that. Eddie is noted as being a criminal and Frank lists some of his offenses, but we don't know how much of what he's saying is the truth. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" and "Blood/Gore" may be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers. We see Jack on a bus by himself, with police all around him, including snipers aiming their rifles in his direction. Cops burst into an apartment with their guns drawn, only to find at least two men already dead there. We see a gun exchange between vehicles where two gunmen in a van then follow Jack in his car as he transports Eddie. When Jack makes a pit stop, we see one of those men come up to the car and try to get Eddie to roll down the window. Since he's cuffed, he can't, and the man draws his gun. We then see the car window shatter, but then see that Jack shot this man. Various shots (in slow motion) then rip by Jack from the other gunman, with Jack returning fire and the gunman then falling from his van when a passing vehicle rips off the open van door. Jack then scrambles to get into his car and take off, with the second gunman shooting at him. Jack then backs up into that gunman, knocking him to the street, but the latter gets up and fires several more shots. We then later see Jack and Eddie moving on foot, trying to find a place to hide. Frank and other cops confront Jack and Eddie in a liquor store where the cops put a gun into Eddie's hand and make him fire a shot (to make him look like a gunman). They then prepare to execute Eddie, but a shotgun blast from Jack hits one of the bad cops in the leg (followed moments later by Eddie kicking him on that wound or in his crotch). Jack then holds the shotgun on Frank for a few moments before he and Eddie back out of the place. Frank then fires various shots through the door they've barricaded. A bad cop slowly enters an apartment with his gun drawn and we think he's going to get Eddie and Jack, but Jack then aims his gun at that man. Eddie and Jack barely avoid two bad cops on a subway train. A sudden gunshot rings out and Jack is hit in the hand as he and Eddie then try to take cover on a roof from a bad cop who repeatedly shoots at them. Two bad cops shoot at Jack and Eddie, with Jack firing back before closing a large sliding metal door onto one of the cop's arms, smashing it. Jack then shoots one or both of those cops in the feet or legs. We think Jack and Eddie are going to open a door where two bad cops are waiting on the other side, but they decide to take a freight elevator instead (with Frank shooting at them, breaking the elevator door glass and reaching in to fire several shots up at the ascending elevator car). As they try to hide in a stranger's apartment, we worry that Eddie's loud and incessant talking will alert the bad cops to their location. A cop on the phone alerts Frank and the others to Jack and Eddie's location. But when the cops kick in the door and enter with their guns drawn, we see that they've been misinformed and have the wrong place. Frank holds his gun on Jack and orders him to lower his, but Eddie then holds a gun to Frank's back. He then holds that handgun to Frank's neck and seems like he's going to shoot him, but Jack talks him down and the two escape. Cops shoot at a city bus carrying Jack, Eddie and around 30 other people. They shoot out the tires, eventually causing the bus to stop after it crashes into various vehicles and through a fence. Jack then has everyone stand in the windows and then tape newspapers to those windows to block an outside view in. Frank nearly shoots Eddie when he goes back out into the middle of a standoff, but another cop stops Frank from firing. Jack drives the partially disabled bus off, smashing into cars and ripping air conditioner units from walls as it goes down an alley, all as cops riddle it with gunfire. We think Frank is going to find Jack and Eddie in an ambulance, but they've pulled a switch on him. Frank confronts Jack in an isolated area and we think something bad is going to happen. A bad cop prepares to shoot Jack in a courthouse, but a sniper sees the cop and shoots him dead instead. GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns/Shotgun/Automatic Weapons/Sniper Rifle/Concussion Grenades: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "F*ck the truth," "That's some cold sh*t," "That sh*t ain't funny," "Oh sh*t," "You're a sunny little sh*t," "The sh*t just gets deeper," "A little hemorrhoid," "Shut up," "Retarded" (about a thing and not a person), "Nigger" (said by Eddie who's black), "What the hell /is going on/happened in there?" "Where the hell is he?" "Hell of a morning" and "Busting my ass." A dead man has tattoos. We see miscellaneous graffiti on a wall. JUMP SCENES A man is suddenly at a car window. A sudden gunshot rings out and Jack is hit in the hand. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A heavy amount of suspenseful and ominous music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 2 "f" words (and another possible one, muttered), 19 "s" words, 11 hells, 1 ass, 1 crap, 1 damn, 2 uses of "G-damn" and 1 use each of "Jesus" and "Oh God." SEX/NUDITY None. SMOKING A miscellaneous person appears to smoke on the street (briefly seen). TENSE FAMILY SCENES We hear that Eddie was a foster kid who doesn't know when his birthday is and has only recently learned he has a sister. We're led to believe that Jack is divorced or separated from a wife, but that woman turns out to be his sister. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Corrupt cops. The dangers facing witnesses. Alcoholism. Jack's statement that life's too long and guys like Eddie make it longer. Jack's comment that people don't change. Frank's comment that there are no lines of right or wrong in police work and that they do whatever it takes to get the job done. We hear that Eddie was a foster kid who doesn't know when his birthday is and has only recently learned he has a sister. Frank's comment about collateral damage in doing police work. VIOLENCE We see two dead men in apparent who were presumably killed (but we don't know how). A gunman draws his weapon to shoot Eddie. We then see the car window shatter, but then see that Jack shot this man. Various shots (in slow motion) then rip by Jack from the other gunman, with Jack returning fire and the gunman then falling from his van when a passing vehicle rips off the open van door. Jack then scrambles to get into his car and take off, with the second gunman shooting at him. Jack then backs up into that gunman, knocking him to the street, but the latter gets up and fires several more shots. We then later see Jack and Eddie moving on foot, trying to find a place to hide. Frank and other cops confront Jack and Eddie in a liquor store where the cops put a gun into Eddie's hand and make him fire a shot (to make him look like a gunman). They then prepare to execute Eddie, but a shotgun blast from Jack hits one of the bad cops in the leg (followed moments later by Eddie kicking him on that wound or in his crotch). Jack then holds the shotgun on Frank for a few moments before he and Eddie back out of the place. Frank then fires various shots through the door they've barricaded. A sudden gunshot rings out and Jack is hit in the hand as he and Eddie then try to take cover on a roof from a bad cop who repeatedly shoots at them. Two bad cops shoot at Jack and Eddie, with Jack firing back before closing a large sliding metal door onto one of the cop's arms, smashing it. Jack then shoots one or both of those cops in the feet or legs. Jack and Frank exchange gunfire. We think Jack and Eddie are going to open a door where two bad cops are waiting on the other side, but they decide to take a freight elevator instead (with Frank shooting at them, breaking the elevator door glass and reaching in to fire several shots up at the ascending elevator car). Cops shoot at a city bus carrying Jack, Eddie and around 30 other people. They shoot out the tires, eventually causing the bus to stop after it crashes into various vehicles and through a fence. A concussion grenade is thrown into a bus, with Jack and Eddie taking cover from the blast. Later, the cops do the same and also throw in some tear gas, but the bus turns out to be empty. Jack drives the partially disabled bus off, smashing into cars and ripping air conditioner units from walls as it goes down an alley, all as cops riddle it with gunfire. Frank pushes a woman to make her open an ambulance door. A bad cop prepares to shoot Jack in a courthouse, but a sniper sees the cop and shoots him dead instead. Reviewed February 23, 2006 / Posted March 3, 2006

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