‘21 Bridges’ is completely predictable

Posted on December 6, 2019

By MARK VIOLA

The “twist ending” has become a film trope mocked almost as much as it is anticipated. Not all twists have to come at the end, with some setting up the second or third act in surprising fashion. Also, not all movies need a twist, but they do need to at least have a surprise or two. Otherwise, the movie is way too predictable.

That is the case with the new thriller “21 Bridges,” starring Chadwick Boseman (“Black Panther”) as a New York City police detective searching for a pair of cop killers. I said in my preview column last week that it can be a red flag when the producers (Anthony and Joe Russo, “Avengers: Endgame”) are the only behind-the-camera names mentioned in the marketing campaign, and that proved true as well.

Although “21 Bridges” is well-directed with some quality action sequences and a solid lead performance from Boseman (who always gives his all), it is also one of the most predictable movies I’ve seen in a very long time, sapping much of the tension from the story because I always knew what was going to happen next. I only remember being surprised once, and that was because what happened was so predictable, I was betting on the movie finally doing something unexpected. I was wrong.

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