Movie review
October 24, 2019 · 100 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for 21 Bridges.
Woke representation / casting
Diverse NYC-appropriate cast with Black lead detective and female partner; explicit development changes from original White/male concepts to increase representation make the choices audience-visible.
Woke political dialogue
Standard procedural talk about internal affairs and corruption; no activist lectures, identity rants, systemic racism framing, or social-justice dialogue.
Identity-driven story themes
Core story is personal legacy, justice, and exposing greedy cops; protagonist’s race adds visibility but does not drive plot or messaging around identity, feminism, or similar.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Critiques corrupt police officers as a criminal conspiracy inside the NYPD; presented as individual betrayal in a classic thriller style, not modern activist systemic attack, toxic masculinity, or anti-Western institutional framing.
Review
21 Bridges is a 2019 crime action thriller starring Chadwick Boseman as an NYPD detective who locks down Manhattan’s bridges during a manhunt for two cop killers and uncovers a drug-trafficking conspiracy inside a police precinct. The story follows a tense one-night pursuit with personal backstory, moral twists, and a focus on internal betrayal rather than broad social issues. Visible diversity appears in the lead casting and partner role, with some development choices made to broaden representation, but the narrative stays centered on standard thriller elements like justice and corruption.
Woke character or canon changes
Original screenplay with no established source material; however, key characters’ race and gender were deliberately altered during development for diversity and representation.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Searches across reviews, forums, and coverage found no meaningful right-leaning complaints about woke messaging, DEI, or agenda-pushing; film received routine mixed notices on execution instead.
Creator track record context
Mix of commercial producers with low scores alongside Boseman’s documented push for diverse representation and Democratic support, Pritzker’s focus on underrepresented voices, and Kaufman’s diverse-project history; overall mild pattern rather than dominant activist drive.
Production
