21 Bridges is a film with an intriguing concept that falls flat on its face when it comes to its execution. Chadwick Boseman plays a police detective who lost his father, who was also a cop, at a young age to street thugs. Now as a cop himself, Detective Andre Davis is known as “the cop who kills cop killers.” Thus, when a robbery goes wrong and leaves eight cops dead in the street following a deadly shootout, Andre is on the case. In an effort to make sure the burglars don’t escape, he orders officers to close off Manhattan from the rest of New York City, shutting down its 21 bridges.
The premise of the film is that the 21 bridges in and out of Manhattan are closed so that the police can catch the two criminals responsible for murdering eight police officers. However, the criminals are never really trapped as a result of the island being shut down. They can move about the borough freely the whole time and are never looking behind themselves or worried about getting off the island. At the same time, the detective’s sleuthing skills are only on display at the very beginning of the film. In a Sherlock Holmes style analysis, he decides the robbers haven’t left the island, but from then on, he is told where to go via phone calls. He follows the path of the plot rather than using his investigative abilities to figure out the criminals’ next move. He is an empty character who is moved by the plot rather than moving the plot himself.
Andre’s past and family history set up an interesting arc that doesn’t lead anywhere. The film spends too much time establishing the fact that he’s ‘the cop who kills bad guys.’ It brings it up repeatedly like it’s the only thing it’s trying to make sure you know about his character. The only time he doesn’t kill bad guys is when it serves the plot for him to not kill the bad guy. Regardless of the character building, Boseman’s performance is nothing special. The performance that disappoints the most was J.K. Simmons. It was almost as if Simmons was so sad the Batfleck film fell apart he took the role of a police captain in a different project and didn’t care enough to try.
The action scenes are well shot and the best part of the film. Shootouts in tight spaces feel claustrophobic and the action is fairly easy to follow. The chase scenes are also exciting and a fresh break from the sloppy narrative. One thing that makes the plot interesting is much of the film follows the criminals; they almost get as much screen time as Boseman. The film also makes one of the criminals a likeable character and gives him redeeming qualities, which is an interesting idea, but it doesn’t develop in a meaningful way.
21 Bridges is a dumb cop drama that can be enjoyed for what it is: a dumb cop drama. It sets up arcs and themes that lead to nothing, but the action sequences are a great to watch. If you’re at all interested in 21 Bridges, just wait until it’s airing on TNT in between Law and Order reruns, because it’s not worth a trip to the theater.
2.5/5 STARS
