16 Blocks is a 2006 film directed by Richard Donner and released by Warner Bros. It was released in the United States on March 3, 2006. The main characters are played by Bruce Willis, Mos Def, and David Morse. The film is shot in the "real time" narration method.
The plot holds a strong resemblance to the story of the Clint Eastwood film The Gauntlet (also from Warner Bros.) with both films being about an alcoholic detective escorting a loud-mouthed witness, only to find that the city's police force want the witness dead. Both films end with the protagonists driving a city bus through a gauntlet of police officers.
Plot
Jack Mosley is recording a message to "Diane", as he wants her to know what really happened. Jack is an alcoholic, burned-out NYPD detective. After working all night, his lieutenant asks him to escort a witness to the courthouse, which is 16 blocks away. The witness will be testifying in front of a grand jury, but the jury is set to be dismissed at 10 a.m., which gives them 118 minutes (almost two hours) to get there.
The witness is Eddie Bunker, a chatterbox who quickly gets on Jack's nerves. They get stuck in traffic, so Jack goes into a nearby liquor store, where he buys a bottle and takes a drink. Left in the back-seat, Eddie is voicing his displeasure to no one in particular when a man with a gun appears. He is shot dead by Jack, who is then shot at by the dead assailant's partner. Jack manages to run him over.
Jack and Eddie go to a nearby bar, one that Jack is familiar with. Jack kicks everybody out of the bar including the owner, then calls the station for backup. Jack's ex-partner, homicide detective Frank Nugent and several other cops come into the bar. Frank tries to get Jack to let him have Eddie, but Jack does not agree, sensing something is not right with the situation. Frank explains to Jack that Eddie is about to testify against a (dirty) cop, who will in turn testify against many others to save himself. Frank takes Jack's gun away, and hands it to one of his guys. The gun gets wiped clean, and placed into Eddie's hand. Eddie is forced to fire a shot from Jack's gun, and is about to get executed when Jack takes the bar owner's double-barrel shotgun and shoots the cop (who was about to kill Eddie) in the legs. Jack takes Eddie and goes out the back door. Frank, really angry but still maintaining his poise, calls in more backups to find Jack and Eddie, claiming that Jack snapped and has started shooting at cops.
Jack and Eddie enter a nearby apartment, since Jack knows where the spare key is hidden. He goes to a bedroom closet to get a handgun. Frank knows that Jack's sister lives in the area, so he has one of his men check out the apartment. Jack is waiting for the cop and handcuffs him around a column and takes his cell phone/radio. When Frank finds out Jack has the cell phone he has Jack's position triangulated through the cellular system. Meanwhile, Eddie escapes and heads to the subway. Jack catches up to him and rescues him just before some of Frank's cops are able to catch Eddie. They go through a Chinese neighbourhood.
Frank's men catch up and start shooting, Jack and Eddie manage to barricade themselves behind a steel door, only to find Frank waiting for them. Eddie and Jack are trapped between the door and Frank; the only escape is an elevator that isn't working. Jack and Frank trade shots while catching up on all the old memories they had. Frank tries to convince Jack that Eddie is a thief by listing all of Eddies prior convictions, which Eddie either denies or says he has changed, only to hear Jack tell him that people do not change. Just when they decide to open the steel door instead and shoot their way out, the elevator starts to work, and Jack and Eddie hop in and go up and out the front door.
Jack and Eddie are now in Chinatown, which is crowded with some sort of festival. Jack sees Frank in the distance and realizes that he must have used his phone to locate him, so he tosses it away and enters an old apartment building. Eddie keeps knocking on doors hoping someone will answer and let them hide inside; finally an old Asian man lets Jack and Eddie in his apartment. Frank's team searches for Jack and Eddie from floor to floor. In the apartment, Eddie changes clothes and tells Jack of his dream of opening a bakery. He carries a notebook everywhere with him consisting of all the recipes in the world for cakes, and he writes down everyone he meets birthday too. Jack calls the prosecuting attorney and explains the situation. She immediately sends escorts - more cops - to get them out safely, as Jack tells her the address and room number. Frank gets Jack's location from the mole and his men bust into the apartment, only to realize they've been duped by Jack. Jack walks down the stairs without obstacles now, only to be stopped by Frank, waiting at the bottom level. Jack had Eddie take a different route and Eddie is able to sneak up behind Frank and aim a gun at him.
They get a bus but are chased. The tires are shot out. There are 31 passengers on the bus, so it has become a hostage situation. The ESU team is mobilized, as well as the Commissioner and news crews. Jack asks the passengers to cover the bus windows up with newspapers, and tells the police that there are about 40 passengers. As they wait, Jack buys more time by demanding the prosecutor, a court stenographer, and a news crew be present before he will release the hostages. When the ESU team is about to break in, Jack releases all the passengers while Eddie sneaks off in the confusion, having switched outfits with another passenger. Jack remains on the bus. The cops still believe that there are nine more hostages, but the bus driver tells them that he was the last passenger and Jack is alone; that is when the ESU team prepares to take Jack out, since they are told that he shot a few cops earlier. This is when Jack makes the tape that was part of the movie intro.
Eddie returns, yells for the cops not to shoot, and gets back on the bus. Bringing up references to Barry White and Chuck Berry, Eddie confronts Jack about him saying people do not change, and he wants Jack to believe that people do change. Jack fires up the bus and pulls out of the dead end. They are chased by the ESU team, who keep breaking windows and firing shots and throwing flash and smoke grenades into the bus. The bus stops as it is wedged in an alley. When the ESU team enters the bus, Jack and Eddie have already exited the bus, escaping into an adjacent building.
During the bus chase Eddie was shot in the stomach, Jack calls his sister, Diane, who drives an ambulance. She administers first aid to Eddie. As the ambulance pulls up to the courthouse, Frank pulls it over and orders Diane to open the rear doors, only to find nothing in there. Jack had Diane call another ambulance and put Eddie on it, which took Eddie away from the courthouse.
In the ambulance, Jack tells Eddie that he is one of the cops that Eddie was going to testify against. Jack asks Eddie to leave, and leave the trial to him. Jack limps into the courthouse car park but runs into Frank. Jack confronts Frank about their crimes. Frank finally loses his cool. He lets Jack get into an elevator. However, he tells one of his men upstairs to kill him.
Inside, Jack is spotted by security, and is surrounded. Jack explains that he wants to speak with the attorney and that he has evidence against many cops. Frank's man still tries to kill him, only to be shot by a SWAT sniper. Jack pulls out a tape recorder that recorded the entire conversation that Frank and Jack just had downstairs, and hands it to the prosecuting attorney. Frank stares miserably as the tape discloses his admission to crimes, and Jack is walked to the jury room.
Two years later, Jack is celebrating his birthday with his sister. The cake, sent by Eddie, is decorated with "People can change". Along with the cake, he sends a letter and photos of him and his new bakery.
Alternate ending
In the alternate ending Frank tells one of his friends not to kill Jack saying "that it is over", but his friend tries to do so (take note that the sniper seen in the original ending is no longer there). Jack is taken upstairs and is about to pull out a tape recorder but Frank's man comes out and shoots him. At the same time Frank jumps at Jack to protect him but fails to do so. Jack is still shot and dies, as the tape recorder plays. Two years later, Jack's sister, takes the cake from the box. The cake is different this time with the quote "There is a lot of signs" and the cake is decorated with a bunch of signs. The letter this time has the same photos and Eddie talks in a much sadder tone.
Cast
Casting
Willis originally wanted rapper Ludacris to play the part of Eddie Bunker.[2] This is the second film where David Morse plays the villain to Bruce Willis as the protagonist. The first was Twelve Monkeys in which Morse plays Dr. Peters.
Box office
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $12.7 million, which was the second-highest earning film of the weekend. As of its May 15, 2006 closing date, the film grossed a total of $36.895 million in the U.S. box office. It made $65.6 million worldwide.[3] According to Box Office Mojo, production costs were around US$55 million.[4] The film made $51.53 million on rentals, and remained on the DVD top 50 charts for 17 consecutive weeks.
References
External links
