21 Bridges review – Chadwick Boseman stars in this Russo Brothers-produced cop thriller that harks back to the contained, lean, mean thrillers of the ’90s.
21 Bridges review: Photo provided by STX
It is rare to find the kind of thrillers that 21 Bridges fashions itself after in the multiplexes these days. With its eye firmly on the likes of Enemy of the State, Heat, and Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead, this film from Brian Kirk aims to construct a tight 100-minute package of genre thrills ideal for an easy-going Friday night. While that is certainly an appealing prospect, the film itself falls short of the mark of recapturing the spirit of the genre movies that it clearly looks up to.
Boseman plays New York City detective Andre Davis, a man dedicated to protecting his city, a desire fuelled by the fact that his father, who was also a cop, was killed in the line of duty when he was just a boy. After a robbery goes awry and leaves seven cops dead, Davis is put on the case of hunting down the two men responsible. In order to do so, he puts the island of Manhattan on lockdown. However, is there more to this case than meets the eye?
There is something undoubtedly enticing about a self-contained cop thriller with as high a concept as shutting down a city in order to catch criminals at its heart, particularly in an age where pre-established intellectual properties dominate general multiplexes. And for a stretch, 21 Bridges does look like it’s going to deliver the package. With a well-paced opening establishing Boseman’s Andre as a gifted cop, albeit one with something of an itchy trigger finger when it comes to high-pressure situations as a result of his father’s past, the film does well to establish our lead as a conflicted and interesting individual.
The action beats largely across the whole film are also well-staged, with some sharp framings from time to time and a punchy gusto given to the fights, gunplay, and violence. The robbery of the stash of cocaine that kicks off the chaos is particularly well executed with a sense of rising tension and effective punctuations of bloody mayhem, mixed in with a growing sense of panic and shaky nerves.
Related: Final trailer for 21 Bridges trailer arrives
Where things start to go off the rails is when the film ensnares itself in police based politics and it begins to construct a narrative that’s more fuelled by a convoluted conspiracy than it is anything all that bare-boned and white knuckle. What started as a cool high concept eventually becomes muddled in a narrative that can’t decide if it wants to be on the side of the boys and girls in blue or offer a more critical look on the actions of those who wear a badge. You get the sense that the film almost becomes a little too afraid to commit to either one side. As a result, the film backs itself into a corner, and the only way it can figure a way out is by relying on a series of increasingly dumb cop thriller cliches.
It is a shame that the film unravels in such a way, as you feel the whole enterprise slowly fold in on itself as it becomes less sure of itself, with even the action beats becoming more and more standard and confused as the film itself winds knots around itself. It is particularly a shame when Boseman is putting in a performance that is striving to be nuanced and charismatic but ends up getting laboured by convenient plotting and cheap thrills that only really call upon him to strike a pose and look serious. The rest of the cast equally feel a little wasted, with the likes of Sienna Miller, JK Simmons and Keith David putting in fine performances in rather thankless roles.
21 Bridges sets out to spark the same kind of contained genre thrills that the likes of Tony Scott would’ve put their name to 20 odd years ago. While there is certainly some excitement to be had and a stylish panache to the proceedings early on, the film ends up tripping up on the very blocks it has laid down for itself. What could have been a fairly breezy and tight thriller ends up losing its way as its sense of swagger and confidence quickly crumbles under the weight of the responsibility it places upon itself to discuss relevant themes of corruption and honour, themes which it just isn’t brave or smart enough to tackle in a satisfying way.
21 Bridges is now playing.
