Brick Mansions (2014) Full Movie
An undercover Detroit cop navigates a dangerous neighborhood that's surrounded by a containment wall with the help of an ex-con in order to bring down a crime lord and his plot to devastate the entire city.
Director : Camille Delamarre
Writers : Luc Besson (screenplay), Luc Besson (screenplay)
Stars : Paul Walker, David Belle, RZA
An undercover Detroit cop navigates a dangerous neighborhood that's surrounded by a containment wall with the help of an ex-con in order to bring down a crime lord and his plot to devastate the entire city.
Reviews
Brick Mansions is a remake of the entertaining French film Banlieue 13, which was basically an exhibition of "parkour" structured around a screenplay inspired by Escape from New York. Brick Mansions moves the action to the United States, and adds Paul Walker as a co-star in order to have a famous name; and from the original film, it preserved the presence from David Belle in the role of an ex-convict with a golden heart whose incredible "abs" and acrobatic ability are indispensable for him to navigate the dangerous territory of Detroit, where the story is developed (even though, ironically, most of the film was shot in Canada). What it couldn't preserve was big part of the violence; it seems as if director Camille Delamarre didn't want to risk himself to an "R" rating, and he diluted the most extreme parts in order to obtain the more commercial "PG-13". Anyway, I found Brick Mansions mediocre, but moderately entertaining, despite the hollow characters and a tangled and improbable screenplay whose main function is finding excuses for the frequent fights, shootouts, car chases and, of course, the "parkour" scenes where Belle and his disciples can display their physical ability. Walker was given the dramatic scenes, and he made an adequate work, even though his character is quite similar to the one he developed in The Fast and the Furious saga. But anyway, since Brick Mansions is one of the last films from his filmography, there's no doubt that his character in here is consistent with the rest of it, and once more, he proves the histrionic growth he achieved, from his beginnings as a bland gallant until becoming a decent actor. For the rest, Brick Mansions didn't bore me, but it's mediocre, and I found Banlieue 13 much more intense and entertaining. Besides, I didn't like the decision of dubbing Belle's dialogs. I guess his accent was considered too French. Maybe, if he had been an Austrian, they would have let him speak English despite nobody understanding a word from him...
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