21 Bridges
21 Bridges | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Brian Kirk |
Screenplay by |
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Story by | Adam Mervis |
Produced by | |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Paul Cameron |
Edited by | Tim Murrell |
Music by |
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Production companies |
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Distributed by | STXfilms |
Release date |
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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 American action thriller film directed by Brian Kirk. The film stars Chadwick Boseman as an NYPD detective who shuts down the eponymous 21 bridges of Manhattan to find two suspected cop killers (Stephan James and Taylor Kitsch). Sienna Miller, Keith David, and J. K. Simmons appear in supporting roles. Brothers Joe and Anthony Russo act as producers.
21 Bridges was theatrically released in the United States on November 22, 2019 by STXfilms. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $49 million worldwide on a $33 million budget.
Plot
A young Andre Davis attends the funeral of his father, who was a police officer murdered during one of his shifts. 19 years later, Davis becomes a successful law enforcer working for the NYPD. Struggling with the legacy of his father, Davis has earned a reputation for hunting down and killing "cop-killers," although he claims they were all in self-defense and is uncomfortable with the label.
One night, two small-time criminals and war veterans Michael Trujillo and Ray Jackson take a job to ransack a winery and steal several kilograms of cocaine it was keeping. The heist goes wrong when they realize there is more cocaine than they were expecting and police officers casually arrive at the location. They are forced into a shootout where Ray guns down the officers. Michael chastises Ray for putting them in jeopardy due to the officers' deaths.
Davis is assigned to the case. Narcotics detective Frankie Burns is assigned as Davis' partner. Davis and Burns come into conflict with FBI agents, who attempt to take over the case. With the reluctant approval of the deputy mayor, the FBI, and the officers' precinct head, Captain McKenna, Davis asks for the island of Manhattan to be locked down. However, they are only given until 5 am to catch the criminals.
Now on the run, Ray and Michael coerce their liaison, Bush, to persuade their handler to give them a bigger cut in exchange for their identities changed for their escape. They are given more money and their fixer, Adi, gives them new identities and tells them to depart for Miami the next morning. Davis and Burns manage to identify Ray, Michael, and Bush in the resulting investigation. Bush is gunned down by Butchco and Dugan, who get there first. After catching Butchco planting his backup sidearm on Bush's body and briefly scuffling with him, Davis becomes more suspicious when a team of police led by Lieutenant Kelly quickly manages to locate Adi's apartment. Adi is mortally wounded by the policemen but manages to give Michael two flash drives and the password for them before Michael and Ray escape.
Davis and Burns manage to catch up to Michael and Ray; after accidentally killing a civilian, Ray is mortally wounded by Davis. Michael then holds Burns at gunpoint and tells Davis about the drives and how suspicious everything is before escaping. Burns chastises Davis for letting Michael escape despite Davis' supposed reputation for killing those who murder cops. Michael manages to hide in a hotel room, where he unlocks the contents of the drive and realizes that McKenna's precinct was involved in trafficking the drugs from the winery and earning profits for it. After another chase where Michael abandons his money, Davis manages to corner him in a subway train and convinces him to surrender, promising to keep him alive. Michael is suddenly shot by Burns, who had also boarded the train and claimed that she thought Michael was still holding Davis at gunpoint. Davis berates her for shooting Michael, who secretly hands over the drives, along with the password, to Davis 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 arrives at his home to find Davis holding him at gunpoint, having found out the contents in the drives. McKenna reasons that the officers were struggling to survive on a measly pay, which forced them to go into drug trafficking, but that fails to convince Davis to walk away. McKenna, along with an arriving Butchco, Dugan and Kelly – who were all on McKenna's payroll – open fire on Davis. Davis kills all of them, including McKenna, who refuses to surrender. Burns, whom Davis deduced was also allied with McKenna, appears from behind and holds Davis at gunpoint. Davis convinces her to give up after revealing that he had already leaked the information online, and that he doesn't want her daughter to live without her mother should she get a life sentence for killing him.
In the aftermath, Davis solemnly drives off on one of New York's bridges in the sunset, with the drives beside him in the cup holder.
Cast
- Chadwick Boseman as Andre Davis
- Christian Isaiah as young Andre Davis
- Sienna Miller as Frankie Burns
- J. K. Simmons as Captain McKenna
- Stephan James as Michael Trujillo
- Taylor Kitsch as Ray Jackson
- Keith David as Deputy Chief Spencer
- Alexander Siddig as Adi
- Louis Cancelmi as Bush
- Victoria Cartagena as Yolanda Bell
- Gary Carr as Hawk
- Morocco Omari as Deputy Mayor Mott
- Dale Pavinski as Tom Cheaver
- Adriane Lenox as Vonetta Davis
- Sarah Ellen Stephens as young Vonetta Davis
- Jamie Neumann as Leigh
- Obi Abili as Butchco
- Andy Truschinski as Dugan
- Darren Lipari as Lieutenant Kelly
Production
On July 11, 2018, it was announced that Chadwick Boseman would star in the film, then known under the title 17 Bridges, with Brian Kirk directing.[3] J. K. Simmons, Sienna Miller and Taylor Kitsch were cast in September. However, Chris Pratt, Andrew Koji, Will Yun Lee and Lewis Tan were also considered for the role of Ray Jackson.[4]
Filming began on September 24, with production occurring between New York City and Philadelphia.[5] Keith David, Morocco Omari, Toby Hemingway, Stephan James and Jamie Neumann joined in October 2018.[6][7][8]
Henry Jackman & Alex Belcher composed the film score. The soundtrack was released at Sony Classical Records.
Release
21 Bridges was released in the United States and Canada on November 22, 2019.[9] It was previously scheduled to be released on July 12 and September 27, 2019.[10][11]
Home media
The film was released in digital download on February 4, 2020 and also released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 18, 2020.[12]
Reception
Box office
As of March 8, 2020[update], 21 Bridges has 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 alongside A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and Frozen II, and was projected to gross $10–12 million from 2,655 theaters in its opening weekend.[13] The film made $3.3 million on its first day, including $770,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $9.3 million, finishing fourth at the box office.[14] The film fell 37% in its second weekend, making $5.8 million and finishing sixth.[15]
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 52% based on 127 reviews, and an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "21 Bridges covers its beat competently enough, but given its impressive cast, this cop thriller should be more arresting than it is."[16] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 4 out of 5 stars, with 57% saying they would definitely recommend it.[14]
See also
References
- ^ "21 Bridges". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
- ^ a b c "21 Bridges (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
- ^ "Chadwick Boseman to Star in the Russo Brothers' 17 Bridges". ComingSoon.net. July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ N'Duka, Amanda (September 26, 2018). "Sienna Miller, J.K. Simmons & Taylor Kitsch Join Chadwick Boseman In STX Thriller '17 Bridges'". Deadline. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
- ^ "Chadwick Boseman's Cop Thriller '17 Bridges' Begins Filming September 24th In NYC and Philadelphia". GWW. July 18, 2018. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
- ^ "Keith David Joins Chadwick Boseman in 17 Bridges - ComingSoon.net". ComingSoon.net. October 2, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
- ^ N'Duka, Amanda (October 3, 2018). "'If Beale Street Could Talk' Star Stephan James Lands Major Role Opposite Chadwick Boseman In '17 Bridges'". Deadline. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (October 16, 2018). "Chadwick Boseman's '17 Bridges' Adds 'Deuce' Star Jamie Neumann (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
- ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (July 29, 2019). "Chadwick Boseman-Starrer '21 Bridges' Moves To November 22 Opening Date". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
- ^ Pederson, Erik (May 16, 2019). "Chadwick Boseman-Russo Bros Actioner '21 Bridges' Moves To Fall As STX Sets Dave Bautista's 'My Spy' For Summer". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 30, 2018). "Chadwick Boseman Action Thriller '17 Bridges' From Russo Brothers & STX Targets Summer 2019 Release". Deadline. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
- ^ https://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/movies/9228/21-bridges/
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Tartaglione, Nancy (November 20, 2019). "'Frozen 2' Set To Ice 'Toy Story 4' For Toon Global Opening Weekend Record With $242M+". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 24, 2019). "'Frozen 2' Thaws Frigid B.O. Marketplace With $130M+, Smashing November Animated Pic Opening Records". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 1, 2019). "'Frozen 2' Hooks $126M+ Holiday Record, 'Knives Out' A $42M Win For Original Pics, 2019 YTD Crosses $10B+: Thanksgiving B.O." Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
- ^ "21 Bridges (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^ "21 Bridges Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
External links
- 21 Bridges at IMDb
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
- 2019 films
- 2010s action thriller films
- 2010s crime thriller films
- American films
- American action thriller films
- American crime thriller films
- American police detective films
- English-language films
- Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department
- Films about corruption
- Films about police misconduct
- Films scored by Henry Jackman
- Films set in New York City
- Films shot in New York City
- Films shot in Philadelphia
- Films with screenplays by Matthew Michael Carnahan
- Hood films
- STX Entertainment films