16 Blocks parents guide

16 Blocks Parent Guide

Overall C

Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) is a has-been detective assigned to escort small-time hoodlum Eddie Bunker (Mos Def) 16 Blocks, so he can testify at a trail. What neither of the men realizes is there's an armed force determined to ensure the witness never makes it to the courthouse.

Release date March 2, 2006

Violence D+
Sexual Content A-
Profanity D
Substance Use C

Why is 16 Blocks rated PG-13? The MPAA rated 16 Blocks PG-13 for violence, intense sequences of action and some strong language.

Run Time: 105 minutes

Parent Movie Review

If you believe what you see in 16 Blocks, corrupt cops in New York’s downtown core are as common as noodles in Chinatown. And all of those men are intent on stopping Eddie Bunker (Mos Def) from testifying against them.

In contrast to the calculating policemen, Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) is dead weight—an out-of-shape alcoholic has-been detective with a gimpy leg. He spends a good deal of his time in a booze-induced stupor and his last big assignment was babysitting a couple of dead bodies in an apartment until the boys in blue arrived to clean up the mess. Trying to get home for a rendezvous with his bottle, Jack doesn’t have a clue about the drama he’ll face when he is coerced into transporting the yappy, young Eddie to a courthouse hearing.

However, the grizzled detective’s drunken daze seems to vanish when shots start flying on the street from undercover agents assigned by their superiors to dispose of Eddie. It seems the small time felon has inadvertently witnessed an unscrupulous business transaction involving several of the officers. Rather than let him interfere with their form of justice, they plan to permanently postpone Eddie’s day in court. With sudden, uncanny clarity, Jack realizes he can either side with his crooked ex partner (David Morse) and hand over the kid or literally fight his way to the inquiry.

Setting up his scenes in the crowded streets of New York, Director Richard Donner keeps the reins on this production by mixing tense, action-packed scenarios with moments of quiet desperation as the worn-out detective and his nervous sidekick attempt to elude the inevitable. Choosing to skip any sexual content, the movie is riddled instead with high-powered gunfire exchanges between Jack and his fellow officers, resulting in blood-covered bodies and frequent strong expletives. Innocent bystanders are forced into the fray when an inner-city apartment is stormed by a SWAT team and later when a bus full of passengers is hijacked. Depicting corruption in nearly every level of law enforcement, the script, like many others, questions the integrity of authority figures while eliciting empathy for the convicted thug.

Eddie, on the other hand, assaults viewers with his nasally, nonstop chatter and his change of heart that seems conveniently timed to coincide with Jack’s own desire to atone for his past. Whether or not you buy into the characters’ turnaround, which unfolds in this unlikely buddy movie, the plot offers 105 minutes of intense action.

Unfortunately, the film’s aggressive and prolific portrayal of violence leaves the streets strewn with enough spent lead and empty cartridges to also pave all 16 Blocks.

Starring Bruce Willis, Mos Def. Running time: 105 minutes. Theatrical release March 2, 2006. Updated

16 Blocks
Rating & Content Info

Why is 16 Blocks rated PG-13? 16 Blocks is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for violence, intense sequences of action and some strong language.

While 16 Blocks avoids any sexual content, bloody violence and corruption are pervasive in the film. With guns drawn, police break into an apartment and discover dead bodies and illegal drugs. During a prisoner transport, one man is shot in the back (blood is shown splattered over the car) and another man is shot at and hit with a car. Several characters are intentionally wounded in their extremities with bullets and one man has his arm slammed in a heavy door. A criminal holds a gun to a man’s head. Car crashes occur during the hijacking of a bus. SWAT teams ransack a bus using high-powered rifles and smoke bombs. An officer is shown drinking on duty on numerous occasions. The script also includes frequent profanities and two uses of an extreme sexual expletive.

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16 Blocks Parents' Guide

16 Blocks, there is a role reversal between the good guys and bad guys. How might the film’s portrayal of bad cops affect the way you perceive your local officers? How does the script build sympathy for the young criminal Eddie? Should felons be allowed to go unpunished if they testify against other criminals?

Eddie believes people can change. What appears to cause his change of heart? How difficult is it to overcome mistakes from the past? What other characters in the film reform? Do you think the depictions of these characters are truthful?

Video alternatives…

Home Video

The most recent home video release of 16 Blocks movie is June 12, 2006. Here are some details…

Warner Home Video dares you to take a stroll down these 16 Blocks with the movie’s DVD release. Available in either wide or full screen, both presentations include deleted scenes with a director/screenwriter commentary, the theatrical trailer, and an alternate ending (not seen in theaters) that is viewable separately or incorporated into the film. Audio tracks are provided in English (Dolby Digital 5.1) and French (Dolby Digital 5.1), with subtitles in English, Spanish and French.

Related home video titles:

Richard Donner’s earlier directorial work includes the fantasy action film Superman starring actor Christopher Reeves. Actor Mos Def stars in Something the Lord Made, a much quieter film where he struggles against the forces of racial prejudice. New York City is assaulted by inclement weather in The Day After Tomorrow.