21 Bridges 2019 * * 1/2 Stars

Director: Brian Kirk
Year: 2019
Rated R
Rating: * * 1/2 Stars
Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Taylor Kitsch, J.K. Simmons

"I just need the truth that's all". So says Andre "Dre" Davis in 2019's 21 Bridges (my latest review). The "truth", is that "Bridges" is nastily punchy and far from being jejune. Not a second goes by when a Glock 19, a Beretta, or a rifle silencer isn't being drawn. Not a minute goes by when someone isn't being chased or shot via point-blank range.

21 Bridges while energized, still feels like recycled, dirty po-po movies in the stylings of Street Kings, Pride and Glory, Sleepless, and 2001's Training Day. It's about a NYC detective who closes down the viaducts connecting Manhattan in order to seek out some nasty cop killers.

Violent, loud, he-man scripted, and containing a few plot holes (and bad New Yorker accents), "Bridges" feels a little cop thriller, film noir in its approach. Most of New York in "Bridges" looks overly dark with obvious soundstages masquerading as actual locales. What does actually look like the "Big Apple", is a few hazy aerial shots that are numerously sprinkled throughout.

Directed by a rookie in Brian Kirk (he is mostly a TV and shorts guy) and garnering a 100-minute running time, 21 Bridges comes off a little unfinished with its editing team appearing as though they're scurrying to put out a finished project. Most of the back-stories entailing the side characters (and lead) are trite. Plus, the "Bridges" film score by Henry Jackman is overly serious to the point of being daft.

Oh well. "Bridges" packs a guilty wallop if you like standard police drama twists, intervals of hailed gunfire (you can literally smell the bullets), tough-talking swipe, and lots of badass stares from Mr. Black Panther himself (that would Chadwick Boseman). "He never freezes". My assessment: 21 Bridges "crosses over" to a 2 and a half star rating.

Written by Jesse Burleson