Brick Mansions
Directed by: Camille Delamarre
Written by: Luc Besson & Bibi Naceri
Starring: Paul Walker, David Belle, RZA, Gouchy Boy, Catalina Denis, Ayisha Issa, Carlo Rota, Andreas Apergis, Richard Zeman, Robert Maillet, Bruce Ramsay, Frank Fontaine, Chimwemwe Miller
Action/Crime/Drama - 90 min
Written by: Luc Besson & Bibi Naceri
Starring: Paul Walker, David Belle, RZA, Gouchy Boy, Catalina Denis, Ayisha Issa, Carlo Rota, Andreas Apergis, Richard Zeman, Robert Maillet, Bruce Ramsay, Frank Fontaine, Chimwemwe Miller
Action/Crime/Drama - 90 min
At the end of Brick Mansions just before the credits roll, there is a brief tribute to Paul Walker with his picture and the “In Memory Of” statement. I hope Fast & Furious 7 will be considered Paul Walker’s last film and not Brick Mansions for there is no way even the seventh film in that franchise can be as awful as this movie.
Action films are supposed to move fast as we try and keep up with all of the running, jumping, and shooting. Halfway through Brick Mansions, I was wondering how this action movie could possibly be so boring. There is the outline of a plot, empty characters, and an entire expose of some of the worst acting you will ever see.
The sketchy plot and fight scenes are all built around the concept of parkour. Parkour became an urban fad in the late ‘90s and early 2000s as a flashy way to get from point A to point B. You may remember a chase scene in Casino Royale (2006) or some fights in The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) that featured these nimble stunts. In 2004, writer Luc Besson wrote a script called Banlieue 13 (District B13 in America), a French film featuring David Belle as the hero trying to save his girl using his parkour skills. Brick Mansions is a by the numbers remake of District B13.
Not too many people talk about parkour anymore and even fewer still practice it. Why on Earth would folks go out and remake a parkour movie? If they are trying to bring it back into style, I highly doubt this is the vehicle to do it with. David Belle returns playing the same character he played in the original movie, but this time speaking English with a heavy French accent. Paul Walker is the undercover cop at his side who is there to defuse a wayward neutron bomb. I hope you did not just strain your eyeballs when they rolled up into your head after that last sentence.
In the year 2018, downtown Detroit is a dystopian wasteland. Gangs and drug pushers took over the housing projects to the point where the National Guard sealed off an entire neighborhood from the rest of the city. There is no government in these projects, also called Brick Mansions. The despot in charge of the gun toting, machete-wielding mobs is Tremaine Alexander (RZA).
The local Robin Hood is Lino (David Belle) who steals drugs from the thugs, washes them down the drain, and evades a couple dozen bad guys by lunging across rooftops, swinging around poles, and crashing through windows. Tremaine kidnaps both Lino’s ex-girlfriend and a neutron bomb all in the same day. Enter Damian (Walker) as the cop sent to defuse the bomb and get some revenge on Tremaine at the same time. You get one guess on who killed Damian’s father some years ago.
The name Luc Besson used to mean something. This man wrote and directed La Femme Nikita (1990), León: The Professional (1994), and The Fifth Element (1997). Now he is known as the man who wrote Taken 2 (2012), 3 Days to Kill (2014), and Brick Mansions. At least he provided the world with some great films before he slid into stale, hackneyed throwaways.
The script is only one of the problems. The acting does the film no favors. Paul Walker is fine playing the same guy he plays in the Fast & Furious movies. David Belle, RZA, and anyone with a speaking role into the entire supporting cast sound like they were ripped straight out of the latest SyFy horror rip-off film like Sharknado or Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus.
The revival of parkour 10 years after its fad was mainstream is a chin-scratching move. What’s next, another Powers Rangers movie or the return of break dancing featuring the pop and lock?
Action films are supposed to move fast as we try and keep up with all of the running, jumping, and shooting. Halfway through Brick Mansions, I was wondering how this action movie could possibly be so boring. There is the outline of a plot, empty characters, and an entire expose of some of the worst acting you will ever see.
The sketchy plot and fight scenes are all built around the concept of parkour. Parkour became an urban fad in the late ‘90s and early 2000s as a flashy way to get from point A to point B. You may remember a chase scene in Casino Royale (2006) or some fights in The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) that featured these nimble stunts. In 2004, writer Luc Besson wrote a script called Banlieue 13 (District B13 in America), a French film featuring David Belle as the hero trying to save his girl using his parkour skills. Brick Mansions is a by the numbers remake of District B13.
Not too many people talk about parkour anymore and even fewer still practice it. Why on Earth would folks go out and remake a parkour movie? If they are trying to bring it back into style, I highly doubt this is the vehicle to do it with. David Belle returns playing the same character he played in the original movie, but this time speaking English with a heavy French accent. Paul Walker is the undercover cop at his side who is there to defuse a wayward neutron bomb. I hope you did not just strain your eyeballs when they rolled up into your head after that last sentence.
In the year 2018, downtown Detroit is a dystopian wasteland. Gangs and drug pushers took over the housing projects to the point where the National Guard sealed off an entire neighborhood from the rest of the city. There is no government in these projects, also called Brick Mansions. The despot in charge of the gun toting, machete-wielding mobs is Tremaine Alexander (RZA).
The local Robin Hood is Lino (David Belle) who steals drugs from the thugs, washes them down the drain, and evades a couple dozen bad guys by lunging across rooftops, swinging around poles, and crashing through windows. Tremaine kidnaps both Lino’s ex-girlfriend and a neutron bomb all in the same day. Enter Damian (Walker) as the cop sent to defuse the bomb and get some revenge on Tremaine at the same time. You get one guess on who killed Damian’s father some years ago.
The name Luc Besson used to mean something. This man wrote and directed La Femme Nikita (1990), León: The Professional (1994), and The Fifth Element (1997). Now he is known as the man who wrote Taken 2 (2012), 3 Days to Kill (2014), and Brick Mansions. At least he provided the world with some great films before he slid into stale, hackneyed throwaways.
The script is only one of the problems. The acting does the film no favors. Paul Walker is fine playing the same guy he plays in the Fast & Furious movies. David Belle, RZA, and anyone with a speaking role into the entire supporting cast sound like they were ripped straight out of the latest SyFy horror rip-off film like Sharknado or Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus.
The revival of parkour 10 years after its fad was mainstream is a chin-scratching move. What’s next, another Powers Rangers movie or the return of break dancing featuring the pop and lock?
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