Starring Bruce Willis, Mos Def
I’ve missed this movie in theaters partly because I really was not too keen on watching it. A story about a burnt out alcoholic cop was not on top of my agenda. Now I realize I should have paid more attention to the details about the story and the movie creators. The movie pulled me in right about after first five minutes and did not let up until the very end. Knowing now that Richard Donner directed it I’d say I should not have been much surprised.
It all started when a drunken cop Jack Mosley was accidentally sent by his lieutenant to deliver a prisoner from jail to the court for a testimony. An assignment he was not particularly fond of from the very beginning as his shift already ended and he was undoubtedly looking forward to get another drink after a rough night. It turned very quickly into a veritable nightmare.
When Jack broke a protocol and left the car near the closest liquor shop to get some booze, his traveling companion, a very talkative little thief Eddie got immediately attacked by two strangers and they did not spare the ammo either. One little detail seemed off-key the following moment – a thoroughly inebriated Jack kills one of the attackers point blank. Nice shooting for a man in such condition, but I was willing to overlook this minor detail as the movie was getting more and more interesting.
Jack and Eddie hole up in a local bar to wait for the reinforcement, but when the cops arrive it’s becoming painfully clear that they are the ones after Eddie, including Jack’s partner of 20 years Frank (David Morse is great as ever). Jack has a choice – to look the other way and leave Eddie to die or to protect him and go against his own buddies, thus risking his life and whatever’s left of his reputation. Jack chooses the latter and from then on what was supposed to be a simple ride 16 blocks down becomes a deadly chase with Jacks’ intimate knowledge of the local territory as his only help in the race to get Eddie and himself to the court building on time and unscathed.
There are many explosive moments (sometimes literally) in this story, but I believe the first thing that got me glued to the screen was Bruce Willis, who absolutely unexpectedly reminded me of himself about 15-20 years ago, at the height of his career. After “The whole 9 1/2 yards” and his killer in pink bunny slippers I thought I’d never be able to lay my eyes on him again, but he surprised me. His drunken cop was very much akin to the “Last Boyscout” Joe, a man who is accidentally dragged into the events that should not concern him, a man seemingly on the verge of self destruction – somehow he finds his inner core and a backbone to stand against mighty enemies so that the justice is done. As in the “Last Boyscout” his partner in this movie Mos Def also brings a lot to the table. His Eddie is an insignificant little man who desperately wants to change his life for good and his testimony in the court is the means to achieve his goals. Yet this frantic ride through New York streets and Jack’s fierce protection change him more than anything else and in the end Eddie shows the strength of character and courage that no one would suspect he’s capable of in the beginning of the movie.
All in all, not a bad piece of entertainment coming from the director of “Lethal Weapon” movies.