| 21 Bridges | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Brian Kirk |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Story by | Adam Mervis |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Paul Cameron |
| Edited by | Tim Murrell |
| Music by |
|
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | STXfilms |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $33 million[2] |
| Box office | $49.9 million[2] |
21 Bridges is a 2019 Americanaction-thriller film directed byBrian Kirk and written by Adam Mervis andMatthew Michael Carnahan. The film starsChadwick Boseman as anNYPDDetective who shuts down the 21 river crossings ofManhattan to find two suspected cop killers, portrayed byStephan James andTaylor Kitsch.Sienna Miller,Keith David andJ. K. Simmons appear in supporting roles. The film was produced by brothersJoe Russo and Anthony Russo,Mike Larocca,Robert Simonds,Gigi Pritzker, Boseman (in his only producing credit) and Logan Coles. It was also Boseman's final theatrical film before his death in August 2020. Boseman's last two filmsDa 5 Bloods andMa Rainey's Black Bottom were released onNetflix.
The project was announced as17 Bridges in July 2018. Principal photography began on September 24, 2018, inNew York City, primarilyBrooklyn and also took place inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania.[3][4] Several members of the cast joined the film in October 2018, including James and David.
21 Bridges was theatrically released in the United States on November 22, 2019 bySTXfilms. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $49 million worldwide on a $33 million production budget.
Andre Davis, a successfulNYPDDetective like his father (who was murdered on duty when Andre was a child), struggles with his father's legacy and has earned a reputation for killing several criminals over the years, although he claims that they were all inself-defense and is uncomfortable with the label.
One night, Michael Trujillo and Ray Jackson, two small-time criminals and ex-militarysoldiers, attempt to steal 30 kilograms ofcocaine from awine shop inBrooklyn, but they find 300 kilograms of cocaine instead. When a group of officers from the NYPD's 85th Precinct arrives, Ray guns them down in a shootout, killing seven officers and wounding another, who later dies at a hospital. After Michael and Ray escape intoManhattan with 50 kilograms, Michael chastises Ray for putting them in jeopardy by killing cops. Assigned to the case, Davis and NYPDNarcotics Detective Frankie Burns come into conflict with theDeputy Mayor, who attempts to allowFBIspecial agents to take over the case. Reasoning that the criminals would have to sell the cocaine in Manhattan before escaping thestate, Davis secures the reluctant approval of the Deputy Mayor, FBI and the precinct's headCaptain McKenna for Manhattan Island to be under lockdown until 5:00 a.m.
As Ray and Michael go with their liaison, Toriano Bush, to meet their buyer Hawk, who gives them $1 million, Davis and Burns get info from a woman and manage to identify all three of them. Bush is soon gunned down by Sgt. Butchco and Sgt. Dugan in a nightclub without a warning. After catching Butchcoplanting his backup sidearm on Bush's body and briefly scuffling with him, Davis becomes more suspicious of his colleagues. Adi, amoney launderer, gives new identities to Michael and Ray and tells them to depart forMiami. However, before he can secure their money in anoffshore account, a team of NYPD officers led byLt. Kelly manages to locate and raid his apartment. Adi is mortally wounded, but gives Michael twoflash drives and their password.
Davis and Burns catch up to Michael and Ray after accidentally killing a civilian, Ray is fatally wounded by Davis. Michael holds Burns at gunpoint, telling Davis about the drives and how suspicious everything is, before escaping. Burns scolds Davis for letting Michael escape despite Davis' reputation. In a hotel room, Michael unlocks the drives, realizing that McKenna's precinct was involved intrafficking the drugs from the winery and earning profits for it and that some of the cops he and Ray had killed in the shootout had beencorrupt. After another chase where Michael abandons his money, Davis manages to corner him on a subway train and convinces him to surrender, promising to keep him alive. Burns, who has also boarded the train, suddenly shoots Michael, claiming that when he berates her, she thought Michael was still holding Davis at gunpoint. Michael secretly gives Davis the drives and password before dying. As the police congratulate the two for their efforts, Davis discovers that Burns had contacted Kelly before Adi's apartment was raided.
The next morning, McKenna returns home to find Davis holding him at gunpoint, having accessed the drives. McKenna explains that the officers went into drug trafficking because they were struggling to survive on a measly pay. Davis refuses to walk away, citing the trial of one of his father's killers when stating drugs are a major cause of people dying. He kills the arriving Butchco, Dugan, and Kelly – who were all on McKenna's payroll – and later kills McKenna, who refuses to surrender. Burns, who Davis deduced was also allied with McKenna, appears from behind and holds Davis at gunpoint. Davis reveals that he has already leaked the information online, exposing all the corrupt cops in New York, and warns her that she will get life in prison for killing him, meaning that her daughter would have to grow up without her, so Burns surrenders.
In the aftermath, Davis solemnly drives along theManhattan Bridge in the sunset, taking the drives with him.
On July 11, 2018, it was announced thatChadwick Boseman would star in the film, then known under the title17 Bridges, withBrian Kirk directing.[5]J. K. Simmons,Sienna Miller andTaylor Kitsch were cast in September.Chris Pratt,Andrew Koji,Will Yun Lee, andLewis Tan were also considered for roles.[6]
Filming began on September 24, with production occurring betweenNew York City andPhiladelphia.[7]Keith David,Morocco Omari,Stephan James and Jamie Neumann joined in October 2018.[8][9][10] Sienna Miller would later reveal just after Chadwick Boseman's death that Boseman donated part of his salary to her in order to have her fairly compensated whenSTX did not meet her requested pay.[11]
Henry Jackman and Alex Belcher composed the film score, with the soundtrack being released bySony Classical Records.
21 Bridges was released in the United States and Canada on November 22, 2019.[12] It was previously scheduled to be released on July 12 and September 27, 2019.[13][14]
The film was released indigital download on February 4, 2020, and also released onDVD andBlu-ray on February 18, 2020.[15] Over its first two weeks of release the film totaled $3.2 million in sales.[16]
21 Bridges grossed $28.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $21.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $49.9 million, against a production budget of $33 million.[2]
In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongsideA Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood andFrozen 2, and was projected to gross $10–12 million from 2,655 theaters in its opening weekend.[17] The film made $3.3 million on its first day, including $770,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut at $9.3 million, finishing fourth at the box office.[18] The film fell 37% in its second weekend, making $5.8 million and finishing sixth.[19]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 55% of 139 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "21 Bridges covers its beat competently enough, but given its impressive cast, this cop thriller should be more arresting than it is."[20]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 51 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[21] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those atPostTrak gave it an average 4 out of 5 stars, with 57% saying they would recommend it.[18]
