21 Bridges
2019, Mystery and thriller/Crime, 1h 39m
135 Reviews 5,000+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
21 Bridges covers its beat competently enough, but given its impressive cast, this cop thriller should be more arresting than it is. Read critic reviews
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Cast & Crew
Andre Davis
Frankie Burns
Captain McKenna
Michael
Ray
Deputy Chief Spencer
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Critic Reviews for 21 Bridges
All Critics (135) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (72) | Rotten (63)
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The problem with 21 Bridges is that it wants to take a stance, but seems entirely unsure what that stance should be.
December 6, 2019 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review… -
Wrap those performances in a few half-decent plot points... and the film offers enough depth to justify the set-pieces and narrative twists and turns.
November 27, 2019 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review… -
A very solid cast, but the characters are drawn with very broad strokes...it's a nuts-and-bolts B-movie thriller set-up that is executed efficiently.
November 26, 2019 | Full Review… -
There are topical moments here as the film toys with public perceptions of US police brutality. And Boseman proves, yet again, to be an easy leading man whose default setting is somewhere between smouldering interiority and outright charm.
November 25, 2019 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review… -
There's a pulpy, comic-book noir to this highly enjoyable thriller, whose rules and parameters are clear.
November 25, 2019 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review… -
Everything about 21 Bridges...is pure counterfeit.
November 22, 2019 | Rating: 1.5/4 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for 21 Bridges
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Jun 18, 2020Some neato throwback vibes in this moderately enjoyable and very predictable crime thriller.Gimly M Super Reviewer
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Mar 19, 202021 Bridges isn't a new idea, but it is nice to see a film that is not a comic book or sequel. Strong actors help maintain a very simplistic plot device, and if it wasn't for all the worthy actors, it might've been just another boring thriller. The film has a pacing that maintains the manhunt structure, but if they allowed a few more character beat moments, this might've been a better cops and robbers film. The issue with thrillers this day and age is the attempt to make films relentless, and they forget to build to these moments. Michael Mann knew this with Heat, which is probably the best example of the genre. Heat is a slow film, nearly 3 hours of talking, but it rewards with moments of intensity and drama. 21 Bridges won't be the film to redefine the genre, but it might assist with resurrecting a quiet genre and in this day and age, it's exciting. 19/03/2020Brendan N Super Reviewer
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Nov 22, 201921 Bridges would have been a more interesting movie if it had simply been a conversation between the police detective, Andre David (Chadwick Boseman), and the mayor of New York City as he proposes shuttling all twenty-one bridges leading out of Manhattan to catch a pair of cop killers. My pal Ben Bailey surmised it should go with the mayor flatly refusing and telling them they should use actual police investigative work to catch the criminals, like all criminals, instead. It's not like Manhattan houses millions of people with deep subway networks and somebody could remain unseen for some time, or the fact that there are more ways off an island than bridges. This concept doesn't even factor into the story in a meaningful way; the police could have just as easily used the bridges as checkpoints for the difference it makes. This eliminates the ticking clock factor. Another miscalculation was splitting so much of the narrative between the two sides, Andre and the cops doing the hunting, and the criminals trying to run away. I'm not emotionally invested in these guys escaping, and it doesn't ratchet tension as the cops get closer. If anything it alleviates tension as I know we're closer to them being captured. The shootouts, foot chases, car chases, and machismo barking are all serviceable from director Brian Kirk, a veteran television director. It's all fine if this is a genre you enjoy but there isn't anything new in 21 Bridges, or anything new that works, to open up that entertainment for anyone else. It's entirely predictable every step of the way, enough that I was correctly presaged the real villains before the movie even started. The actors all do respectable work. It's all competent from top to bottom, but it's in service for a forgettable by-the-numbers cop thriller. I have to believe the original script for this was something more daring, perhaps opening up Andre's character and his reputation as a "cop killer killer" and what effects that has had on him. He really shouldn't be the hero. He should be the guy who comes to learn a culpability being part of a corrupt system of justice, pushing him toward an anti-hero reclamation. What we get isn't even close to that level of character exploration, so I must believe 21 Bridges was noted to death by studio exec mismanagement. Otherwise what did the star of Black Panther and the directors of Avengers: Endgame see in this story that urgently had to be told on the big screen? It feels like some relic from the 90s that would have starred Wesley Snipes and absent any modern commentary on the role of a police state in urban communities. Alas, you get what you get with 21 Bridges, which could have been 18 Bridges, but some exec must have said, "No, that's not enough bridges. But 30 is too many. Gentlemen, were gonna stay up all night if we have to in order to solve this number-of-bridges puzzle." If you have a soft spot for this kind of thriller genre, you might find some fleeting moments of entertainment. Everyone else can look away. Nate's Grade: C+Nate Z Super Reviewer
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