Bruce Willis stars as a burned-out NYPD officer with a bum leg, a heckuva drinking problem and an all too familiar buddy-cop action flick plot. Will he survive, thrill and prevail? Of course--he's Bruce Willis! This time, Willis is forced to transport petty criminal Mos Def to the courthouse 16 blocks away so he can testify before a grand jury. Seems easy enough.
..till all the shooting starts. It turns out that detective David Morse--Willis' ex-partner--wants Def dead because his testimony will indict a bunch of corrupt cops. So, the cynical Willis and the optimistic Def are on the run--and on each other's nerves. Def's nasal chattiness proves more grating than amusing, and the script sometimes strains credibility. But director Richard Donner, who successfully mined similar territory with Lethal Weapon, keeps the flick clipping at a shotgun pace and provides enough popcorn-pleasure moments that you forgive most of the plot problems. Even if you're not a die-hard action fan, you might wanna block out time for these 16.