Bruce Willis dons yet another hairpiece toward reprising his more hirsute era during the box office heydays of his trio of "Die Hard" movies. "16 Blocks" is a sporadic chase sequence set around petty crook Eddie Bunker (Mos Def) who needs to be transported from his jail cell to Manhattan’s main courthouse, 16 blocks away, to give crucial testimony in a grand jury case that could end the careers of many dirty police officers. Alcoholic NYPD veteran Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) is coming off of a long night shift when he’s relegated to chaperone Eddie to his 10:00 a.m. court appointment. Every dirty cop in town comes to the aid of head police baddie Frank Nugent (David Morse) in attempting to catch or kill Jack and his handcuffed ward before they reach the courtroom. Mos Def makes the most of his valuable co-star screentime by creating a humorous character that periodically elevates the strictly formulaic script. Special features include an alternate ending (optionally viewed separately or as part of the movie, a deleted scenes featurette with commentary by director Richard Donner and screenwriter Richard Wenk, and the film’s theatrical trailer. Aspect ratio is 2.35:1 encoded in HD DVD, with sound quality processed in Dolby Digital Plus 5.
(Movie – Two Stars, DVD features – One Star) Rated PG-13, 92 mins. (Warner Brothers)
