16 Blocks...
—1. Overview
—2. Cast and Crew
—3. Photo Pages
—4. Trailers, Clips, DVDs, Books, Soundtrack
—5. Posters (Bruce Willis)
—6. Production Notes (pdf)
—7. Spiritual Connections
—8. Presentation Downloads
People can change. And if that is true, it seems in our darkest moments, the moments when we see two roads, we have a choice to change, or to walk the same line we have always walked. A line that leads to a boring, mundane, predictable, sad, lonely, and in the words of Jack Mosley from 16 Blocks (Bruce Willis), ultimately long life.
Mosley is tired and perhaps ready to die, and he is doing it slowly by drinking his days away. He is a cop that has been reduced to nothing more than desk status, until he is called to transport Eddie Bunker (Mos Def), a prisoner, 16 Blocks. A seemingly harmless task, until Mosley shoots a man trying to kill Bunker. Enter Frank Nugent (Davis Morse), who explains that this seemingly harmless prisoner is in fact going to testify against cops. Nugent, Mosley's former partner, would be implicated, and of course, he is willing to do anything to prevent that, and so Mosley has to make a choice. Side with dirty cops and go back to drinking his days away, or side with a known criminal who may or may not be telling the truth?
The rest of the movie is a result of that choice. The choice to do good. The choice not to erase Mosley's past sins, but rather to confront and confess them. The choice is to change.
16 Blocks is by far the most powerful film I have seen this year, packed with both superb storytelling and acting. But above all, 16 Blocks reminds us of one thing: People can change. A criminal who has spent over half his life in prison? He can change. A cop that is dirty and has constantly sold others out for his own success? He can change. How does that change occur?
Self-sacrifice. Not exactly the most highly recognized value in our society, but 16 Blocks tells us that our lives would become suddenly much less boring, sad, and long when we put others before ourselves, risking our lives for them. But self-sacrifice means risking everything, as repeatedly both Mosley and Bunker have their lives threatened.
This could possibly classify 16 Blocks as an Action-Thriller, but I am afraid if I say that then you will think that it is Die Hard 14, or whatever they are on now. But this is not Bruce Willis shooting dozens of men, killing all evildoers, and then getting the girl in the end. No, there is no girl, there is not much killing, there is a lot of action, but this is far better than an action thriller.
16 Blocks is about a choice. A choice we all face every day when we wake up. A choice to matter, to do good, and to serve others, or a choice to seek fulfillment in our life. For Mosley seeking fulfillment was alcohol, but let's be honest, for any one of us it could be sex, drugs, gossip, or whatever we want. But something in all this is screaming at us that our life could mean something, that we could break out of the mold into something real and deep. For me, ultimately, that is what a life in Jesus is all about. And although Jesus is never discussed in 16 Blocks, this movie is an open door for such a thing.
At times movies can fill in two hours of my life, with a little bit of entertainment value but ultimately a message that really does not matter. But every now and then a movie comes along, a movie like 16 Blocks, that dares to shake me from the monotony of my life, challenging me to change, to see value in other people, and ultimately put their rights and life before my own.
— Overview
—2. Cast and Crew
—3. Photo Pages
—4. Trailers, Clips, DVDs, Books, Soundtrack
—5. Posters (Bruce Willis)
—6. Production Notes (pdf)
—7. Spiritual Connections
—8. Presentation Downloads
People can change. And if that is true, it seems in our darkest moments, the moments when we see two roads, we have a choice to change, or to walk the same line we have always walked. A line that leads to a boring, mundane, predictable, sad, lonely, and in the words of Jack Mosley from 16 Blocks (Bruce Willis), ultimately long life.Mosley is tired and perhaps ready to die, and he is doing it slowly by drinking his days away. He is a cop that has been reduced to nothing more than desk status, until he is called to transport Eddie Bunker (Mos Def), a prisoner, 16 Blocks. A seemingly harmless task, until Mosley shoots a man trying to kill Bunker. Enter Frank Nugent (Davis Morse), who explains that this seemingly harmless prisoner is in fact going to testify against cops. Nugent, Mosley's former partner, would be implicated, and of course, he is willing to do anything to prevent that, and so Mosley has to make a choice. Side with dirty cops and go back to drinking his days away, or side with a known criminal who may or may not be telling the truth?
The rest of the movie is a result of that choice. The choice to do good. The choice not to erase Mosley's past sins, but rather to confront and confess them. The choice is to change.
16 Blocks is by far the most powerful film I have seen this year, packed with both superb storytelling and acting. But above all, 16 Blocks reminds us of one thing: People can change. A criminal who has spent over half his life in prison? He can change. A cop that is dirty and has constantly sold others out for his own success? He can change. How does that change occur?
Self-sacrifice. Not exactly the most highly recognized value in our society, but 16 Blocks tells us that our lives would become suddenly much less boring, sad, and long when we put others before ourselves, risking our lives for them. But self-sacrifice means risking everything, as repeatedly both Mosley and Bunker have their lives threatened.
This could possibly classify 16 Blocks as an Action-Thriller, but I am afraid if I say that then you will think that it is Die Hard 14, or whatever they are on now. But this is not Bruce Willis shooting dozens of men, killing all evildoers, and then getting the girl in the end. No, there is no girl, there is not much killing, there is a lot of action, but this is far better than an action thriller.
16 Blocks is about a choice. A choice we all face every day when we wake up. A choice to matter, to do good, and to serve others, or a choice to seek fulfillment in our life. For Mosley seeking fulfillment was alcohol, but let's be honest, for any one of us it could be sex, drugs, gossip, or whatever we want. But something in all this is screaming at us that our life could mean something, that we could break out of the mold into something real and deep. For me, ultimately, that is what a life in Jesus is all about. And although Jesus is never discussed in 16 Blocks, this movie is an open door for such a thing.
At times movies can fill in two hours of my life, with a little bit of entertainment value but ultimately a message that really does not matter. But every now and then a movie comes along, a movie like 16 Blocks, that dares to shake me from the monotony of my life, challenging me to change, to see value in other people, and ultimately put their rights and life before my own.
— Overview
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