By Shane Conto
Cop Land, Training Day, The Departed, and L.A. Confidential. What do all of these films have in common? They are some of the greatest dirty cop films from American cinema. What makes for a great dirty cop drama? A strong and honorable lead to anchor the audience through the dark and murky underworld. The thrills and tension build to a fever pitch and finally explode. Unfortunately, this does not apply to 21 Bridges. This film was billed as a great thriller coming form the visionary directors of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the Russo Brothers. Unfortunately for this film, they are not involved creatively at all.
This film is written by one of the writers behind World War Z and directed by Brian Kirk who did work on Penny Dreadful and Game of Thrones. This creative combination is able to churn out a collection of clichés and serviceable filmmaking. Kirk is able to add some flare to some scenes including the climax of the film. Most of the shootouts in the film have an impactful and harsh presentation of the violence which is something that is important to add impact. But what wasn’t impactful was the awkward pace of the film which lacked urgency despite the fact that the film centers on chasing cop killers. Despite some inspired camerawork at certain points, the film honestly looks like it could be a TV show (lacking that special cinematic look for the film).
From a writing perspective, the film doesn’t really offer anything special compared to the great films I mentioned before.
The reveals turn out to be really obvious and portrayed in an even worse way with the obnoxious exposition that is so on the nose. The character motivations are also generic yet the film tries to act like they are inspired and shocking. You will know what happens around each corner because if you have seen a dirty cop movie before, you have seen this one.
You are probably wondering when the positives are coming after all of the previous criticism? When it comes down to it, the committed cast is what makes this a watchable thriller in the very least. Chadwick Boseman is a solid leading man in this film after getting chances to front other films like Black Panther. His breathless and whispery delivery of dialogue is an interesting choice but he is still able to provide an effective performance. Sienna Miller, after giving a career best performance in American Woman earlier this year, is able to give a strong performance as one of the more interesting characters in the film. JK Simmons is able to do his JK Simmons thing despite some material that is not the most nuanced or original. But JK Simmons honestly just makes any film he is in better and he delivers in every scene. Taylor Kitsch, the man that Hollywood once tried to make the next big thing, is serviceable in the film and Stephan James is given a little bit more to do compared to his partner in the film.
When it comes down to it, the performances really make this film watchable. If you are okay with a collection of solid performances and competent action, then 21 Bridges is probably worth your time (especially with its reasonable one hour and thirty-nine-minute runtime). But if you really wanted the next great dirty cop thriller, this one really isn’t the film for you. Overall, it is disappointing and forgettable. I will probably not remember this one after the next week.
Grade: C-
About the Author: Shane Conto
If the early bird gets the worm, then Shane Conto gets the “Best Ever Challenge” worm. Shane has his BEC movies picked, written, and submitted weeks in advance. If you follow him on social you’ll be shocked at the amount of movies and TV he is able to view and review consistently. His favorite movie of all time is Mad Max Fury Road and he never misses a chance to get Mad Max into the weekly BEC. When he isn’t watching movies, he is teaching college statistics. You can count on Shane for excellent movie reviews.