21 Bridges

Have watched it

rip boseman

Seven NYPD cops have been shot dead in Brooklyn, and the perps have fled into Manhattan. Chadwick Boseman, himself the son of an officer slain in the line of duty, orders all 21 bridges out of the city shut down.... even though there are actually 17 of them. You may not care for my picking on this point, a matter of my usual dissatisfaction with the way New York City is portrayed in films.... a movie geography that bears little relationship to reality. Sienna Miller plays a cop with an accent that no one under 70 has in reality, and the streets of Manhattan don't look like that, nor do any of the three subway stations on 23rd Street. Were the 17 bridges and four tunnels leading out of New York closed for half an hour, even in the dead of the night, traffic throughout the city would be snarled past all movement. Let it go, Bob! Enjoy this seedy neo-noir about corruption that reaches everywhere in New York for what it is! The problem is that when things like that are so obviously false, then it's impossible to accept any of it. No matter how many times every character - except Boseman - drops the f-bomb, proving their sincerity and reality. Well, at least the scenes at Grand Central were shot there.

I just got out of 21 Bridges It's predictable (The twists are obvious) the dialogue is also routine and predictable (my son was saying some of the lines before the actors) but overall, I enjoyed it. A decent enough way to pass 90 minutes Chadwick Bosnan is an effective leader and JK Simmons offers solid support but the always awesome Kieth David was under used and whilst the rest of the cast (Sienna Miller, Taylor Kitch) is all fine, it Stephen James was the stand out for me, I actually wanted him to get away at times. There were only 19 other people in my screening

So there are some cop killers in NYC so they close all the bridges and disrupt the lives of millions of people? Um - no? This is the FACE OFF of black cop films. Also - the acting isn't amazing. I guess this film that is produced and directed and stars Marvel folks is part of the contact payback for the actor being in the BLACK PANTHER. Yes, it moves along well but overall not that memorable. We found ourselves turning on our phones and checking email. AND my boy mumbles his lines. Half the theater was saying "what did he say" for 90 minutes. When most reviews start with "not bad I guess" and "what did I just watch" .. Skip this one.

Watched this movie today, the very next day of Chadwick's passing. This is a very good movie. I highly recommend you watch it if you like thriller and action.

Aside from being very predictable, Chadwick Boseman was "too much" in his character and very melodramatic, as was the score during highlighted scenes. Otherwise, the directing was on point, the casting great, and the run-time and pacing perfect. I enjoyed it more than I thought. 7/10 from me

I sometimes see people rate a movie highly and complain about the other low scores people have given it. Irks me particularly if the movie/series was actually poor. This film is not that! A well directed, well acted cop thriller with enough twists to keep you interested throughout the movie. Gritty, but also nuanced on who you end up rooting for in the movie. I genuinely can't understand the low ratings for this.

Many may have come just to see Chadwick Boseman and they shouldn't be disappointed. But there are other good things about this movie. It has one hell of a tight script. Throughout the 100 minutes runtime, there is not a single wasted, idle shot (no pun intended). There is also a good supporting cast, which I'll come to later. The movie is almost real-time, starting from a midnight robbery gone wrong, resulting in the killing of eight offices of the NYPD. Manhattan is sealed off (hence "21 bridges" plus all other access routes) and the NYPD is given just a few hours to dawn to apprehend the perpetrators, before the FBI takes it off their hands. Running almost like real-time, the movie immediately kicks into high gear. Paring up on this mission-almost-impossible are detective Andre Davis (Chadwick Boseman), "the guy who kills cop-killers" and narcotics officer Frankie Burns (Sienna Miller), tough as a bone, with a will of her own (thanks, W.S. Gilbert, of "Gilbert and Sullivan"). This co-lead billing notwithstanding, his is clearly a lead role and hers a strong support. Police Captain McKenna (J.K. Simmons), shaken by the loss of eight of his family-like officers, hints to Davis to live up to his reputation and take no prisoners. Despite such reputation, however, Davis has never shot a criminal without just cause. Burns, impeccably professional, has a little daughter waiting for her at home, under the care of a babysitter. The two criminals who blundered into this unexpected disaster are Ray (Taylor Kitsch) and Michael (Stephan James), both war veterans. Ray is the typical villain while Michael, although loyal to him, has more sense and compassion. I am not going into the detail plot which, needless to say, has twists and turns. With good character development (albeit within the real time of a few hours), running parallel are a police procedural and a crime story from the POV of the criminals. Excellent script, direction and acting together make sure that your attention is focused during the entire duration of the movie. Boseman is pitch perfect, indisputably demonstrating that he has a lot to offer beyond Black Panther. Miller, unlike the glamour support in "Stardust" (2007), is all character-acting here. Kitsch, in his first (I think) crack at a key villain role, delivers. Matching him scene for scene, and then more, is James. Ever reliable, Simmons handles his not-so-simple role effortlessly. This is an exceptionally good crime and action drama.

"We got twenty-one bridges in and out of Manhattan. Shut them down. Three rivers. Close them. Four tunnels. Block them. Stop every train and loop the subways. Then, we flood the island with blue." Well, that's the gist of this movie! Could have been ho-hum, but Chadwick Boseman makes it much better than that! He really was one heck of an actor! And he make his character, Andre Davis, really smoke on the screen! I'd have loved to see a sequel with this character. And, of course, any more that Mr. Boseman would have done. So sad that we lost such a fine, fine actor...