Movie Review: Brick Mansions

Would you risk everything to finally dish out some long overdue revenge? In April 2014, Damien wanted to pay Tremaine back for what he did to his father and this may be his last chance to do it.

Directing this 90 minute action/crime/drama is Camille Delamarre.

Surviving the Mansions is: Paul Walker as Damien Collier, David Belle as Lino, RZA as Tremaine Alexander, Catalina Denis as Lola, Ayisha Issa as Rayzah, Gouchy Boy as K2, Robert Maillet as Yeti and Richard Zeman as Major Reno, Bruce Ramsay as Mayor.

Damien is a Detroit cop that has been on the trail of a crime lord named Tremaine for a long time. Tremaine has always been untouchable. Now, Damien gets another chance to catch Tremaine when he's sent into the
Brick Mansions, a neighborhood cut off from the rest of society by a containment wall, to retrieve a stolen item that threatens the good citizens of Detroit. Unfortunately, Damien will need some help to pull this mission off, so like it or not he'll have to work with an ex-con named Lino. Together, these two could finally bring Tremaine down, or at least put up a good fight before they fall.

So I finally got the chance to see this French - Canadian film, and man was it worth the watch. What I didn't know was this is a remake of the movie District B13 (2004). What got me was the more I looked into District B13 and Brick Mansions I found something weird. Apparently, David Belle plays the same main character, Lino, in both films. After watching Brick Mansions I can see why they would want Belle. His parkour skills are crazy cool to watch, but he's not the only person with that skill set. Why not grab another guy and set your film apart from the original, instead of making a copy... complete with stars and all.
                                                             

As for the storyline that writers Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen came up with, I thought it was good (Besson was also a writer on the District B13 flick). Nothing really new about the idea behind the story, mind you, and I don't mean because it's a remake. The story and playthrough reminded me of Escape from New York (1981). Walk with me for a second. Important package is stolen, hero must retrieve said package from the outskirts where all the dangerous criminals (that are now separated from society) live. Yeah, that doesn't sound familier at all does it? Anyways, as much as it reminded me of said movie, I still liked this one and it was entertaining.

The cast does a good job but RZA really needs to stop acting. Nothing against RZA mind you, I liked his music. It's just in the six movies I've seen him in he acted like the same person in each of them, and that character only fit in two of the movies. Other than that I don't have any complaints with the cast. Belle was cool, and it was cool watching him jump/flip throughout the film. Sad but cool, this was Walkers last completed film and it was awesome to see him.

Special effects and camera work add some awesome scenes to the movie, especially during the fight scenes. My only complaint is you can use slow-mo too much. During an amazing jump, cool. During amazing jump number 14 (that looked just like the last four jumps), getting over played.

Overall it was a cool movie, but I can't say it was worth the price of a theater ticket. It'll be a great rental for when you're in an action flick kinda mood.

It's rated PG-13 for violence and language.

3 stars


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