21 Bridges digital review: Chadwick Boseman leads the cast of this reasonably entertaining action thriller as a cop on the trail of a pair of crooks who have killed various members of the NYPD as they stumble across a pile of drugs much bigger than they initially anticipated.
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Reuniting with Anthony and Joe Russo, directors of Avengers: Endgame, who are on board here as producers, Boseman is Andre Davis, a New York City detective whose father, we learn in the opening scenes, was a fellow cop killed in the line of duty. Davis is in trouble with internal affairs following a series of fatalities on various busts – all of them cop killers – who he says were killed in self-defense. Then there’s Michael Trujillo and Ray Jackson (If Beale Street Could Talk‘s Stephan James and Taylor Kitsch, Friday Night Lights), a couple of small-time hoods who are hired for a job to steal 30 kilos of cocaine from a local wine joint in Brooklyn. When there is ten times that at the location, the pair grab as much as they carry, but they are interrupted by a group of police offers who just happen to stumble across the place. The two end up having to shoot their way out, killing a number of officers in the process. Escaping, Trujillo and Jackson speed back into Manhattan to deliver the drugs and turn it into some fast cash. Immediately assigned to the case, Davis must track them down before they flee, initially closing the 21 bridges out of the city to hinder their progress. But is there more than what first seems to be an opportunist robbery?
Related: Read our original theatrical 21 Bridges review starring Chadwick Boseman, Sienna Miller
Helmed by Brian Kirk, an accomplished director with credits that include Luther and Game of Thrones, 21 Bridges is a solid move back to features. The film moves along at break-neck pace, and although the whole plot is hugely predictable, and the plot beat oh-so-familiar, it’s a difficult film for the audience in which it is targeting, not to enjoy.
The movie reminded me of those heavy adult-rated action-thrillers of the late eighties and nineties, one that can be forgiven for some of its flaws. It is cliched, but the strong performances from Boseman and particularly James. JK Simmons also delights as Captain Matt McKenna, largely unseen for most of the film, but excellent to watch in the film’s closing moments when he finally gets to shine.
Throwaway entertainment, 21 Bridges is a film that won’t linger for long in the memory, but if you’re able to ignore its predictability and just enjoy a tight 95-minute thriller, one perfectly served late at night over of your favourite adult beverages, you can do fare worse.
21 Bridges is now available on digital, DVD and Blu-ray.
