Brick Mansions
A handful of highlights prevent the movie from being a complete misfire but it’s hard to recommend Brick Mansions to anyone but filmgoers who just want to see Paul Walker on the big screen.
Set in the year 2018,Brick Mansionstells the story of animation inside a wall off Detroit ghetto - where mob linguistic rule has replaced natural law and rescript . Unable to control criminal activity in the Brick Mansions slum , the Mayor of Detroit , with the support of his constituents , cuts off all government services - leave residents of the cordoned off territorial dominion to stand for themselves behind a 40 - foot concrete roadblock . Without shoal , hospitals , or canonical human services , the mass of Brick Mansions sour to ambitious cocain headpin Tremaine Alexander ( RZA ) to relieve the suffering .
In spite of an Fe fisted rule , the drug lord faces ongoing strike from freedom champion , led by local hero Lino Dupree ( David Belle ) , who still believe their residential area is deserving save . However , when Tremaine and his thugs develop a weapon of mass devastation , Lino is forced to partner with outsider Damien Collier ( Paul Walker ) - an clandestine Detroit Police Officer with his own score to settle inside the wall of Brick Mansions .
organise by Camille Delamarre , Brick Mansionsis a full - fledge American remake of the 2004 French action filmDistrict 13(orB13 ) - which also spawned a sequel , District 13 : Ultimatum . Hollywood filmmaker Luc Besson bring about the originalDistrict 13,Ultimatum , as well asBrick Mansions- which all bank heavy on urban fight choreography from star David Belle ( who was instrumental in grow the " Art of Movement , " Parkour ) . As a result of Belle ’s acrobatics , District 13earned a religious cult following ( in plus to favorable reviews ) in spite of a thin plot and several second-rate performance .
unluckily , in attempting to up the military action for American audiences , Delamarre ’s remaking is all mode and zero substance - turning the already blandDistrict 13storyline into a downright asinine serial of confused events . Still , while it ’s inconceivable to take theBrick Mansionsnarrative seriously , Belle ’s unique strenuosity along with pleasurable performances from Walker and RZA might supply enough guilty joy payoff for fans of over - the - top fisticuff films .
In transition the Paris , France setting ofDistrict 13to Detroit , Michigan , Besson and screenwriting collaborator Bibi Naceri consecrate little time to even the most introductory cinematic demand . Instead of the six calendar month meter window depict inDistrict 13 , the writer set about to cram identical story fabric into rough 48 - hr of movie time without any nuanced changes - essentially paste the same villains inside American racial stereotype . In general , Brick Mansionsis an raring experience that does n’t bother to develop the narrative or grapheme beyond shallow ( and often unsavory ) banality , parachute from one split activity set piece to the next without necessary filler to explain the action at law of its supporter .
On a primeval level , watching Lino and Damien prioritize punch over strategizing is laughable fun butBrick Mansionsisn’t intended to be aRush Hour - style brother clowning . Delamarre set out to tell an heartfelt ( albeit action - packed ) dystopian tale filled with commentary on the branching of social inequality - where power - athirst sponge prey upon impoverishment - stricken innocents . In that setting , where thousand of innocent people could be vaporized in a flash , it ’s impossible to takeBrick Mansions ' champion badly ; or else , audiences get a brace of indiscreet musculus heads that dispatch foeman via head word - on gondola crash with nothing more than bricks and well - timed slow move backflips .
While Besson and Naceri might have written a more nuanced storyline into the script , Delamarre ’s execution is a scrambled muddle that fetishizes brawn over brains and pushes suspension of disbelief to an eye rolling break detail . render that theDistrict 13series was keep for its implementation of Belle ’s parkour choreography , the actor is par for the course as Lino . In the destruction , Belle ’s execution is a premix of shirtless flex , cringe - worthy ADR ( aka " dubbed ) lines , and slick fighting moves that either hit or miss base on which member of the cast is on the receiving end .
Paul Walker provides a likeable turn as Damien - even though the character reference is n’t a significant stretching from his well knownFast and Furiousrole and , next to Belle , the actor is a bite stilted during several complicated stunt sequences . Yet , regardless of problems with the largerBrick Mansionsproduction , viewers who are aware of the doer ’s premature death will get to see the charming leading man full of sprightliness in a unanimous posthumous performance .
Surrounded by a stable of cartoonish villains and saddled with more than his fair share of exposition , RZA manages to turn Tremaine into one of the film ’s standouts . More than anyone else in the project , RZA navigates the film ’s convoluted social comment to deliver a true character - a humankind that is the inevitable byproduct of Brick Mansions ' extreme environment . Sadly , in keeping with Delamarre ’s commitment to over - the - top giddiness , a caliber functioning from RZA is n’t enough to save Tremaine from a third act moment that is developing and unearned .
Paul Walker and David Belle in ‘Brick Mansions’
Brick Mansionsis an enormous waste of the assembled endowment and fail to entrance the wizardly ofDistrict 13 . With only a few minor change to the heart and soul plot of land ( nearly all of which are inferior ) , Delamarre ’s adaptation mimics the original storyline so close that there ’s small reason for established fan to mark out the American remake . A fistful of highlights prevent the picture from being a complete miss but it ’s arduous to recommendBrick Mansionsto anyone but filmgoers who just want to see Paul Walker on the great screen or were fascinate by the hope of Belle ’s brassy brawling . Outside of a few entertaining present moment , the remaking is a inept mess that seldom land a memorable punch .
If you ’re still on the fence aboutBrick manse , check out the trailer below :
-
David Belle as Lino Dupree in ‘Brick Mansions’
[ poll id=“795 " ]
Brick Mansionsruns 90 minute and is Rated PG-13 for frenzied gunplay , force and military action throughout , linguistic communication , intimate menace and drug fabric . Now playing in theater of operations .
RZA as Tremaine Alexander in ‘Brick Mansions’
rent us know what you thought of the film in the comment section below .
Paul Walker as Damien Collier in ‘Brick Mansions’
