A supreme talent, Chadwick Boseman impressed us immediately with his equal parts genius and gravitas when he tackled Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall and James Brown among his first roles. He knocked all three out of the park and it’s impossible to imagine anyone else portraying those American icons. Then, he broadened his reach by adding comic book hero to his repertoire—as only he could—as T’Challa, aka Black Panther, and was one reason why the blockbuster film became one of the first to receive Oscar notice beyond technical awards. When all was said and done, the Marvel Studios flick won three Academy Awards—Best Original Score, Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.
Boseman is back on the big screen in another thrilling role in 21 Bridges. This time, he’s a NYPD officer, Andre Davis, who knows all-too well the sacrifices our First Responders make as his father was gunned down on the job when he was just thirteen. Now, he’s known as the cop who catches (and often kills) cop killers. His expertise is required in a manner that could never have been more serious as eight of New York’s finest were shot and killed in what appears to have been a botched robbery. Two assailants entered a wine bar/restaurant, shot the owner dead and before they made off with kilos of cocaine, a handful of policemen and women happened upon the crime and paid the ultimate price.
Davis, immediately, knows that the perps they are searching for are professional, perhaps military trained. He also accurately discerns that everything that occurred from the moment they entered the facility was a surprise, from the amount of drugs in the kitchen’s freezer to the arrival of the uniformed police officers. The son of a slain officer in the line of duty also is aware from his vast experience that if they don’t catch this dastardly duo in the next few hours, they will disappear into the fabric of the world. What’s a lead detective to do? Close Manhattan, that’s what—thus the name of the film. All the bridges, tunnels, thoroughfares, airports and train stations…shuttered. Also, every single available officer is called to traverse the island of Manhattan and bring justice to those that perished.
What’s fascinating in 21 Bridges, is what form that justice is expected to take. As Davis sees it, even though he has shot his fair share of crooks, these guys need to be captured alive, put through a trial and let the system do its job. As represented by Oscar winner JK Simmons’ Captain McKenna, whose precinct was home to the officers who were killed, two less cop killers living and breathing would work for him. As seen in the 21 Bridges trailer, he implores Davis to save the families of these men the emotional turmoil of a trial, parole hearings and the like.
Anytime a film presents its story and it involves police or any first responder position being essentially assassinated while on the job, this debate undoubtedly rears its head. What sets director Brian Kirk’s drama apart is its existence of Davis’ backstory and his reputation and how that leads to a rift within the department with detectives and officers obviously not approaching this case with on the same page. There is a conflict portrayed by Boseman that is effective, especially since there appears to be some sort of conspiracy that has piqued his interesting and forcing him to approach this case—even though it is horrifying—with kid gloves until some facts commence their march towards the truth.
Along for the ride, and obviously much more, is Sienna Miller’s Frankie Burns. Her officer shares Davis’ affinity for justice for slain cops, and his commitment to discovering the truth in this lightning rod of a case, unabated by members of the NYPD who are seeking blind vengeance over following a fact-based path that utilizes the justice system as prescribed by society. Burns and Davis aren’t always on the same page. As played by Miller and Boseman, the pair have pitch perfect chemistry, that has us wishing the overall film was better though out and laid out as the franchise potential surrounding Davis is enormous.
21 Bridges fumbles as it goes oscillates between the guilty duo and those stopping at nothing to root them out of hiding in this “closed” Manhattan night. Michael (Stephan James) and Ray (Taylor Kitsch) are firmly established as pure villainy, especially at what seems like Ray’s unflinching ability to pull that machine gun trigger when absolutely anything gets in their way. This clearly pains Michael, which is somewhat explored and explained where he is coming from in Adam Mervis and Matthew Michael Carnahan’s script. The problem is, it gets glossed over before the emotive richness can sink in with the viewer and is never furthered as the film hurdles towards its various, we’ve seen them before cops versus crooks, beats.
Now, both Kitsch and James turn in riveting work with what they’re given. Sadly, the sum of the parts is never fully realized. This is due to the screenplay’s failure to cohesively link our good guys versus bad guys’ dynamic with the introduction of the ideas that what is behind this robbery/murder is much more than pure greed and could be an indictment on the system as chronicled in 21 Bridges. James, fresh from his revelation of a performance in If Beale Street Could Talk is proving to be a go-to thespian for conflicted characters. They could not have cast better with him and beside him is Kitsch, who has continued to show great gifts after the so-called debacle that was John Carter.
Kirk makes a decent enough jump from television (Game of Thrones, Luther) to the big screen, but with a more astute script to work from, we can see him delivering a thriller worthy of the that milieu’s moniker. There is nothing on deck for the filmmaker, but this writer will be keeping an eye on the Irish movie man with hopes that he’s given something more thematically rich to product.
Boseman almost single-handedly makes 21 Bridges a hurricane of action scenes with emotional and layered drama. But even a superhero cannot save a vapid script from itself. The actor does continue to show that the camera loves him, and he has a command over our attention in a way that is rare in Hollywood. His mere presence is riveting and every scene that finds him in it is better because of that fact. It is also interesting that a character, as it is laid out in the screenplay, like Davis would be a tad bit older. The respect he garners and gets from all involved in law enforcement is palpable. That is all Boseman.
Grade: B-