About the film (courtesy of STX Entertainment):
21 Bridges follows an embattled NYPD detective (Chadwick Boseman), who is thrust into a citywide manhunt for a pair of cop killers after uncovering a massive and unexpected pursuit of him. As the night unfolds, lines become blurred on who he is pursuing, and who is in pursuit of him. When the search intensifies, extreme measures are taken to prevent the killers from escaping Manhattan as the authorities close all twenty-one bridges to prevent any entry or exit from the iconic island.
Now that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is taking a well deserved break, most of its stars have started resuming their non-superhero careers. Chadwick Boseman is one such person. 21 Bridges seems a bit out of the norm for the veteran actor because it is not a Marvel special, nor is it a historical biopic focused on important figures in our recent history. Considering Boseman starred as Jackie Robinson (42), James Brown (Get on Up) and Thurgood Marshall (Marshall), he’s proven multiple times that he can be a polarizing character smack dab in the middle of some major drama. His latest feature contains a lot of drama.
Joining Boseman are Taylor Kitsch, Stephan James, J.K. Simmons, Keith David and Sienna Miller. For the type of film that 21 Bridges is, having this amount of main talent is pretty impressive. What remains to be seen is if a director that has pretty much focused on television episodes thus far, can put all of his shiny new toys in a position to excel. To helm a feature length film and keep your audience engaged throughout is much different than only having to worry about them for less than an hour at a time.
Maybe the most appealing about 21 Bridges is that it doesn’t pretend to be anything more than what it is, your basic crime drama. Yes, there may be a few aspects that are not clear and obvious regarding its plot, initially. But you aren’t waiting for long before the other shoe drops as the story continues. All of this happens at a pretty quick pace, making the sub-100 minute runtime a rarity by today’s standards. More importantly, audiences aren’t given too much time to work things out ahead of the reveals. The attempt at an enigmatic plot only works if you don’t stare too deeply and director Brian Kirk attempts to further conceal things by constantly moving the story along.
From an execution standpoint, 21 Bridges does things just well enough to keep you from becoming complacent and picking things apart. The acting is decent from its main stars but some of their thick New York accents could maybe use a little work. This easily falls into the gritty category with an emphasis on in-your-face violence.
On the negative side, 21 Bridges does nothing at all to set itself apart from the countless predecessors before it. Upon leaving the theater, thoughts of what transpired over the previous 90+ minutes begins to slowly fade away. I’m not saying that the movie isn’t entertaining, it’s just not impactful or memorable.
Simply treading water isn’t enough to give 21 Bridges my blessings, especially with there being other stronger choices available to choose from in theaters right now. But if you’re looking to take a walk on the darker side of law and order, Chadwick Boseman may have a few ideas for you. Overall though, don’t expect anything more than average. You can see how everything plays out in theaters right now.
