21 Bridges

21 Bridges casts Chadwick Boseman as Andre Davis, a grizzled New York City detective who uncovers a massive conspiracy while tracking down a pair of cop killers (Stephan James’ Michael and Taylor Kitsch’s Ray). Filmmaker Brian Kirk, working from Adam Mervis and Matthew Michael Carnahan’s screenplay, does a fantastic job of immediately luring the viewer into the proceedings, as 21 Bridges kicks off with an unexpectedly gripping heist that boasts a surprisingly (and refreshingly) brutal feel – with the picture, past that point, seguing into a watchable yet disappointingly erratic midsection. The hit-and-miss nature of this stretch is, however, generally easy enough to overlook due to an ongoing smattering of compelling sequences, including a solid foot chase and the recurring cat-and-mouse interactions between Boseman and James’ respective characters. And although Boseman delivers a typically competent but charm-free performance, 21 Bridges benefits from the efforts of an eclectic supporting cast that counts J.K. Simmons and Alexander Siddig among its ranks. The padded-out third act ultimately ensures that the movie concludes on a somewhat anticlimactic note, to be sure, and it’s clear, ultimately, that 21 Bridges is precisely the sort of instantly-forgettable thriller that one used to stumble upon on late-night television.

**1/2 out of ****