21 Bridges

Early in "21 Bridges", Chadwick Boseman's hard-nosed police detective by the name of Andre Davis authoritatively orders that all 21 bridges in and out of Manhattan be shut down. Not surprising, since that's the name of the movie. But here's the thing: There aren't 21 bridges to Manhattan. Yes, Manhattan has plenty of bridges, just not 21 (the real number is 17); the four other connections to the city are actually tunnels. It's not a huge deal, but boy is it a hell of a good metaphor for this clumsy manhunt flick.

Michael and Ray are hired guns set to steal 30 kilos of cocaine hidden in a small wine shop. Everything appears to be going according to plan until the two criminals find the drugs: 300 kilos instead of 30. With few options, the two pack up as much of the drugs as possible and attempt to get out quickly. But when a crew of cops show up, the two see no way out other than by clearing a path of carnage. Leaving a trail of dead police officers in their wake, the two are now on the run. Unfortunately for them, Detective Andre Davis, with his reputation for hunting down "cop killers," is on the case.

"21 Bridges" is a great TNT movie. The type of movie that you stumble onto partway through and just leave on while you do chores around the house. Its concept isn't all that unique and its many twists and turns are far more predictable than it believes them to be. It's not a bad movie by any stretch, but it also is decidedly not good. It has all of the necessary pieces in place, but everything is just slightly off. From the many bold New York accents (the less said about Sienna Miller's attempt at toughness the better) to the film's inability to reckon with basic logic, it all misses the mark.

The film's savior is its action. First time feature director, Brian Kirk, shows that he knows how to string together a kinetic action sequence. The breakneck gunfights are cataclysmically brutal and thrilling. As each sequence plays out, it distracts you from the needlessly winding plot, which seems designed to purposely mislead while we can all see the obvious path that it's truly taking.

The Blu-ray release is surprisingly sparse. In addition to the small set of deleted scenes, the release only includes a commentary with director Brian Kirk and editor Tim Murrell. The deleted scenes are about as enjoyable as most (read: they aren't) and the commentary is serviceable if largely unmemorable. Overall, the largely generic release feels fairly appropriate for the movie. "21 Bridges" is a mediocre cop movie driven by gripping action sequences that does nothing special or surprising. You'll enjoy watching parts of it as you fold laundry.

"21 Bridges"
Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD
https://www.21bridges.movie/
$22.99