6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.3 |
From Lethal Weapon director Richard Donner comes "a hard-to-beat thriller" (Gene Shalit, Today/NBC-TV). Bruce Willis hits the mark as Jack Mosley, a broken-down New York City police detective assigned to escort a petty criminal (Mos Def) from the precinct to the courthouse. The seemingly simple 16-block journey becomes a test of character for them when Jack's ex-partners attempt to stop them.. Its' the gripping story of how two men change each other during a tense 118-minute struggle between life and death.
Starring: Bruce Willis, Yasiin Bey, David Morse, Jenna Stern, Casey SanderThriller | 100% |
Crime | 80% |
Action | 56% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
I was trying to do a good thing.
16 Blocks, a 2006 action/drama film directed by Richard Donner (Lethal
Weapon) and
starring Bruce Willis (Tears of the
Sun)
and
rapper Mos Def (Be Kind
Rewind),
plays
out like a poor man's version of a Die Hard film, most aptly compared to
the third in that
franchise, Die Hard With A
Vengeance. The main connection, obviously, is Willis, once again
portraying a washed
up,
slovenly cop who finds himself traversing New York City with a tagalong who
becomes a powerful
ally by the end. This movie isn't quite as good as any of the Die Hard
films (with the possible exception of Die Harder), but I'll
give
it one thing: it has heart. It manages to get noticeably better and far more
interesting by
the final act with some real character development, interesting plot twists, a fairly
high level of
palpable tension.
I knew I should have gone with the USP I am holding on the box over this Glock...stupid jams!
16 Blocks traverses onto Blu-ray in a remarkably average 2.40:1, 1080p high definition transfer from Warner Brothers. Fortunately, "average" is still fairly good, and 16 Blocks, amidst its decidedly bland appearance and uninteresting visual style, does make for a decent viewing experience for fans of this movie. The image has a soft look to it with dull, lifeless colors, but this seems to be the director-intended look for the film. Tan and gray hues permeate many scenes in the film. Colors are anything but eye-popping, certainly duller than those in another film I recently screened and reviewed, The Pursuit of Happyness. Even brighter outdoor scenes, of which there are several near the end of the movie, don't offer colors that jump off the screen. Detail remains moderately high, but there is a flatness to the image that adds to the dull nature of the film. Look at the old yellow phone Mosley uses in chapter 13. We can see every bit of grime and dirt on it, and it is certainly a phone I'd rather not put to my ear unless the circumstances were life and death, as they were in this film. As the hot, long, arduous, and deadly trip across 16 city blocks progresses, we become privy to the accumulated beads of sweat, dirt, and other tell-tale signs of despair and exhaustion on actor's faces, clothing, and the like. Flesh tones appear a bit darker than expected, but this is likely, once again, due to the stylized and obscure look to the film. I noted a random white speckle here and there on the print but no other discernible flaws of that nature. Film grain is not visible over every frame, but it's there, mostly visible in the film's darkest of scenes. Speaking of dark scenes, black levels fare well here, too. 16 Blocks is certainly no reference-grade disc, but it does make the grade as a decent, but definitely underwhelming, high definition experience, especially compared to the best of the best visual Blu-ray discs available today, like Saawariya and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Just as understated and dull as the picture is the film's soundtrack, presented here with no lossless or uncompressed audio option, offering listeners only a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Not much of a rear channel presence is to be heard during the more mundane scenes where just a hint of atmospherics are only occasionally heard. The action sequences, obviously, pick up in intensity and offer some discrete sound effects scattered here and there in the back left and right channels and across the front soundstage. Gun shots ring out surprisingly true with an excellent presence that is neither too loud nor unrealistic nor phony nor trumped up for some slick movie sound effects. Shots in tight, close-quarters fare especially well with ricochets, impacts, bangs, and the thuds of 9mm rounds, as well as the sound of brass dropping to the ground, sounding absolutely first-rate on this mix. Unfortunately, other than the movie's few shootout scenes, there is very little going on in this track that involves much more than the center channel speaker. Music bleeds through to the back on occasion, but it's a strain to hear it. Sometimes I felt like I had to get my ear to within inches of one of the back speakers to even realize it was there. Dialogue sounded a bit harsh in a few spots as well. This lossy mix is certainly not going to convert anyone to Blu-ray, but fans of the movie and established format adopters and supporters probably won't find too much to complain about when it comes to this track in the grand scheme of things.
16 Blocks makes the rounds on Blu-ray with a disappointing selection of extra features. First up are several deleted scenes (480p, 19:51) with an introduction and commentary by director Richard Donner and writer Richard Wenk. We see Donner and Wenk appear every now and then in a small picture-in-picture window over the bottom right hand side of the screen. Next is an alternate ending to the film (480p, 6:39) that again features an introduction by Donner and Wenk discussing the differences and the reasons why the change was made. Finally, the film's theatrical trailer (480p, 2:19) concludes this all-too-short set of extras.
16 Blocks seems like the little movie that could. At the end of the day, it's not much more than a standard-fare action/drama flick with a few nice performances, and it's hardly a memorable picture. Nevertheless, every time I watch it, I cannot help but to be drawn in by the end of the movie, despite a rather tedious first half that screams for the disc to be ejected or the channel changed in favor of something else. What starts as a meandering, lifeless cop drama becomes a tense, well-played, and well-directed film that almost has the audience forgetting the mediocrity of the first half of the movie. Unfortunately, this Blu-ray edition of 16 Blocks is as forgettable as the first half of the movie contained on it. Sporting an average video presentation, no lossless soundtrack, and only a handful of extras, this is a disc for only the most ardent of fans or Blu-ray collectors/completists who want to pick this one up during a sale.
Extreme Cut
2009
2009
2015
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1990
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Special Edition
2008
1989
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Combo Pack
2012
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Extended Cut
2013