21 Bridges Fixes New York Traffic Temporarily

21 Bridges (2019)

21 Bridges was an engrossing cop thriller created by talented storytellers. It doesn’t do anything new, but everything it does, it does well. The acting is great, the cinematography is great, the action is great, and the reveal is great, even though it is largely expected. The only problem I have with this movie is the dialogue. 21 Bridges is one of those movies in which the characters don’t talk like normal people. Everything is a speech and nothing is a conversation, like a Shakespearean play performed by actors who all think they are the lead, so I guess the acting wasn’t that great. Fortunately, the acting is not integral to the story. 21 Bridges is driven by its set pieces and moments. The actors don’t make the characters; the story does, as each scene peels back a layer of Chadwick Boseman’s detective and Taylor Kitsch and Stephan James’ crooks. The story twists and turns through a couple of faux climaxes, that do make the movie feel a little long, similar to the infinite endings of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. On a more positive note, those scenes were chockfull of intrigue and believable action. In fact, not once did I need to suspend my disbelief during this movie. Every scene, every interaction, every motivation was understandable. I bought in and was able to enjoy 21 Bridges more than any other recent cop procedural except End of Watch. I give 21 Bridges 18 out of 21 Bridges.