Film Review - 21 Bridges (15)

They told me you were fearless - the guy who kills cop-killers.

There's a particular brand of American cop movie that springs to mind when talking about 21 Bridges. Brian Kirk's new film is a police procedural in the classic mould - the officer as part of an organisation, with all the meaning he invests in the badge he wears. More hard-boiled than your average buddy-cop drama and more intimately concerned with the job's politics than most cop-on-the-edge action flicks, its antecedents include The French Connection and LA Confidential. And while it doesn't match those titles' greatness, it's still a notably decent entry into the genre.

Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther's King T'Chala himself) plays Andre Davis, a NYPD detective, who views his career as a matter of familial DNA rather than personal choice. He's a cop to the bone, one who's been grilled more than once by Internal Affairs regarding his use of lethal force during operations. When a robbery-gone-wrong results in police fatalities, it's Davis who gets called in to track down the perpetrators. His ploy is to shut down all escape routes from Manhattan Island, including every last bridge (hence title), so that there's no escape. For colleagues of the murdered officers, however, capture isn't good enough - and Davis is seen as the man to bring these criminals down so there's no getting up. But is he really what they assume him to be? One long, grim night will put that and a whole lot else to the test.

21 Bridges sets out its stall right from the sombre opening scene; this is a brooding tale of morality, mortality and the forces that shape the people we become. Boseman's cop works by a code that others fail to fathom - at least to begin with. It's a contained but intense performance, one that helps keep the drama grounded. And his is not the only character whose agenda bears scrutiny... J K Simmons as a gruff precinct captain and Sienna Miller as the detective with whom Andre is partnered for the night, both have motivations that run way beneath the surface. Even Stephan James as one of the two detested crims-on-the-run turns out to have real dimension - but then the lead from this year's wonderful If Beale Street Could Talk was always going to play more than a carboard cut-out villain.

The film's story is tight and, courtesy of its 'shut down the city' element, has a unique sense of claustrophobia. Its dialogue sometimes strays into cop-movie cliche and the twists are guessable for anyone who knows their genre cinema history, but other virtues render those flaws unimportant. Director Kirk (an Irishman from my native County Armagh) speeds the investigation along, while making the most of night-time Manhattan's rainy neon. Add the ominous rumbling of the score and this is the second movie this season (the other was Joker) to summon memories of Scorsese's Taxi Driver. It's dark, it's grimy and it depicts a swamp of dubious morality in which a good cop could easily drown. 

This is, ultimately, a dogged detective flick, set in motion by a brutally violent set-piece and fuelled intermittently by well-shot action. (A third-act foot chase is the best I've seen in years outside of the Mission: Impossible franchise.) It doesn't score too many points for originality, but it tells its tale with pace, conviction and water-tight plotting - and central characters who makes you care. Even if the final twists don't surprise, you'll want to see this streamlined urban thriller through to its gritty end.

Gut Reaction: Jarred, intrigued, occasionally thrilled,ultimately satisfied.

Memorable Moment: That extended chase scene (along with its outcome) was riveting.

Ed's Verdict: 7.5/10. Solid genre film-making at every point, raised a couple of notches by Boseman and James. Not one of the great cop movies, just a very good one.