I didn't even know that Brick Mansions existed until a few weeks after I heard that Paul Walker had passed, so I was very glad to see that there was at least one more movie aside from Fast 7 that we'd get to see him in. I was lucky enough to score a free screening of it last night, and had a hard time keeping my expectations in check... the last action movie I saw was The Raid 2: Berandal and that thing was amazing! I seriously had to try very hard to wipe that movie from my recent memory so I could enjoy Brick Mansions.
This film is the American remake of a French film (District 13) famous for it's use of parkour (a.k.a. free-running or street-ninja... -ing). I've had D13 in my Netflix Queue for over a year now and I just have never gotten around to watching it. As if the Paul Walker factor wasn't enough to get me to go see the remake, they got the actor from the French original to play the same part in the remake as the Paul Walker's reluctant "convict" partner. That is major cool points in my book if you are doing an American remake of a foreign film.
**MINOR SPOILERS**
Brick Mansions is about a project/ghetto area in Detroit that has been walled off from the rest of the city and forgotten about because of it's high crime rate. Lino (David Belle) lives there, but tries his best to thwart the efforts of the Brick Mansions' drug lord, Tremaine (Rza). Lino uses his parkour skills to steal and destroy as much of Tremaine's drug supply as he can. Tremaine's people kidnap Lino's ex-girlfriend, Lola (Catalina Dennis), in an effort to control Lino... and Lino's efforts to rescue her get him arrested by a dirty cop. Damien (Paul Walker) is an undercover narcotics cop who has been dismantling Tremaine's network from the outside... all because Tremaine is credited with Damien's father's death. After Tremaine's people hijack a neutron bomb from the outside and take it into Brick Mansions, the mayor enlists Damien to infiltrate and disarm it. The mayor also teams Damien up with Lino, because Lino knows Brick Mansions like the back of his hand. As Damien and Lino try to build trust and get to the bomb in time, they start to find that an even deeper and more sinister plot may be unfolding before them.
So, Paul Walker has had better performances than Damien, but this was one of his good ones... he's definitely come a long way from 2 Fast 2 Furious. He was believable as an undercover narcotics officer, but honestly, he was just playing Brian O'Connell from the F&F series again. At one point he's even driving around in a Mustang, so this could've easily been a spinoff Fast and Furious movie about his character as a cop that was set after 2F2F but before F&F4. That being said, he has improved over the years as an actor and it's going to suck not being able to see him get any better at it. However you slice it, I've never watched a Paul Walker movie for his acting, in particular. His big films are straight-up popcorn movies. (Although, I need to find a copy of Hours at some point. The other critics say he was amazing in it and that he carried the entire movie on his own.) David Belle's freerunning skills are very impressive and he was able to speak English without too thick of a French accent, always a plus. Lino and Damien's interactions were definitely the best parts of the film. Rza was horrible, as always, though I do have to admit that even he is showing signs of improvement. The producers put him in a role where he doesn't have to chew up a lot of screen time, and that worked for the most part... but it was still the Rza and he just takes me completely out of a movie whenever he's on the screen.
What did I like? The action, both the fighting and the parkour. The "buddy cop" aspect of it. The differences between how Damien and Lino fight or otherwise navigate the terrain... and some of that is pretty funny. The car chase. "On three... THREE!" The "In Loving Memory" slate for Paul Walker just before the credits, which got a partial standing ovation.
What didn't I like? Things were mostly believable... until events before the end became too convenient... basically it felt like the lose ends tied themselves up instead of the characters having to do it. The dialogue delivery... (some lines were just plain cheesy bad.) The Rza.
All in all, I was fairly entertained. I do plan on seeing it again in the theater, especially because I think the sound mix might have been off at the particular screening I was at. I'm glad I got to see it and I had fun. Brick Mansions isn't the best movie ever... but its not the worst, by a long shot. It's definitely worth a theater viewing.
Final Grade - 6.75/10
(I couldn't quite give it a 7, but it's so much better than just a 6. I'll buy this when it comes out on Blu Ray.)
(I couldn't quite give it a 7, but it's so much better than just a 6. I'll buy this when it comes out on Blu Ray.)
Brick Mansions is in theaters tomorrow, 4/25/14
Until next time... are you not entertained?
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