Rated
PG-13 (Frenetic Gunplay, Violence and Action Throughout, Language, Sexual Menace
and Drug Material)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 30 Minutes
Cast-
Paul
Walker-Detective Damien Collier
David
Belle-Lino Dupree
Robert
Fitzgerald Diggs/RZA-Tremaine Alexander
Catalina
Denis-Lola
Ayisha
Issa-Rayzah
Gouchy
Boy-K2
Robert
Maillet-Yeti
Carlo
Rota-George the Greek
Frank
Fontaine-Collier's Grandfather
Bruce
Ramsay-Detroit's Mayor
Andreas
Apergis-Berringer
Richard
Zeman-Major Reno
Directed
by Camille Delamarre
 |
| It's nice to see the late Paul Walker on the big screen but it doesn't change the fact that "Brick Mansions" is terrible. |
Note: Screened on Wednesday, April 23, 2014 at AMC Loews 34th Street 14.
Heath
Ledger tragically died from an accidental prescription drug overdose six months
prior to the release of Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" sequel
"The Dark Knight" in 2008 but the Australian actor—who was just twenty-eight
years old at the time of his death—left behind an indelible mark on critics and
audiences alike with his memorably unhinged performance as long-time Batman
nemesis the Joker. Riding a wave of critical acclaim, Ledger was subsequently given
a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which his family accepted
on his behalf. As cynical as this may sound, such accolades will not be given
to Paul Walker, who was killed in a car accident last November after leaving a
charity event with his friend Roger Rodas. Walker was in the middle of shooting
"Fast & Furious 7," which was set to be released this July but was
pushed back to next April as a result of his untimely death. Moviegoers who
were hoping to see Walker on the big screen will have to make do with the Luc
Besson-produced "Brick Mansions," a remake of Pierre Morel's
well-received 2004 French action film "District B13." The only problem
is that the remake—helmed by editor-turned-director Camille Delamarre—is absolutely
terrible. Completely bereft of any discernable plot and saddled with mind-numbing
and poorly edited action sequences, "Brick Mansions" is a forgettable
D-grade action flick that is only notable for featuring Paul Walker in one of
his final film roles.
In
the year 2018, the crime-infested slums of Detroit, Michigan—known as 'Brick Mansions'—have been walled off from
the rest of the city by the Mayor (Bruce Ramsay) and his rich constituents, leaving
the remaining residents in the rundown district to fend for themselves behind a
forty-foot high concrete barrier manned by armed soldiers. With no schools, hospitals,
or even basic human services, the people trapped within Brick Mansions turn to
ruthless drug kingpin Tremaine Alexander (Robert Fitzgerald Diggs/RZA) to ease
their daily suffering. Hoping to wipe away the urban plague in one shot, the Mayor
targets the decaying district for demolition but his plans hit a snag when it
is revealed that Tremaine has managed to acquire an experimental neutron bomb,
which the drug lord inadvertently activated and is set to go off in twelve hours.
To disarm the weapon, the Mayor sends in hardnosed undercover detective Damien
Collier (Paul Walker), who is eager to settle a score with Tremaine as he killed
his police officer father decades earlier. Damien finds himself paired with Lino
Dupree (David Belle), a freedom fighter living in Brick Mansions. Lino has his
own reasons for going after Tremaine as the drug lord is holding his ex-girlfriend
Lola (Catalina Denis) hostage. Using their unique fighting skills, Damien and
Lino dive headfirst into the belly of the beast in order to save a city that's
tearing itself apart.
Given
a limited release in 2006 and 2010 in North America, Pierre Morel's
"District B13" and Patrick Alessandrin's sequel "District 13: Ultimatum"
went on to receive positive reviews from critics (80% and 74% on Rotten Tomatoes,
respectively) and is notable for introducing the acrobatic martial art known as
'parkour' to a wider audience. David Belle, one of the founders of parkour, reprises
his role of Leïto—renamed Lino—in Camille Delamarre's remake "Brick Mansions"
and although it's been ten years since Morel's film came out (it was first released
in France in 2004), his rooftop-jumping and wall-scaling stunts still get the adrenaline
pumping. Unfortunately, these moments are few and far between in Delamarre's
version and what we're left with are a bunch of generic action scenes that are
choppily edited together. The story isn't any better because there isn't any.
Written by Luc Besson and Bibi Naceri, the script feels like a rough draft that
was hastily hashed out in a lazy afternoon as it squanders its dystopian premise
(which is closer than you think given Detroit's current economic situation),
with the film itself made borderline unwatchable thanks to the ugly visuals from
cinematographer Christophe Collette. As it if that wasn't enough, the writers
see fit to shoehorn in a social inequality
theme that's at best, insulting, and at worst, racist since almost everyone
living in the Brick Mansions district is a minority. I would respect Besson and
Naceri more if they had just stuck with making a straightforward action film
instead of forcing in some out-of-nowhere social commentary in a lame attempt
to provide their picture with 'meaning.'
With
its laughably atrocious story and the dialogue faring even worse, this just leaves
the action as the sole saving grace for "Brick Mansions." Sadly,
novice director Camille Delamarre bungles this as well as outside of Belle's
few parkour sequences, the fight scenes and car chases are damn-near incomprehensible.
Any given shot lasts approximately thirty milliseconds and much of the violence
ends up being diluted because Delamarre always cuts at the point of impact.
When the action scenes in your action
film fail to excite and cause headaches because they're indecipherable, you have
a major problem on your hands. Additionally, Walker's untimely demise casts an uncomfortable
pall over the numerous high-speed car crashes given his cause of death.
Like
the story, there are no performances, just a bunch of people shouting when
they're not busy punching or shooting at each other. Paul Walker was never a great
actor to begin with; at best, he's watchable but in "Brick Mansions,"
he might as well be a brick. Walker's
pairing with David Belle allows for some moments of levity, with the actor staring
with an incredulous look on his face whenever he witnesses Belle perform an acrobatic
feat. Although Belle shines in the parkour scenes, his performance is marred by
some rather terrible ADR dubbing. Faring the worse is rapper Robert Fitzgerald
Diggs, popularly known by his stage name 'RZA.' He really needs to stop trying
to be an actor because frankly, it's painful to watch. Rounding out the rest of
the cast is Catalina Denis, who spends much of the film chained to a rocket in
a barely-there waitress uniform. She and Ayisha Issa, who plays Tremaine's
second-in-command Rayzah, provide the film's sole pleasure: a cat fight.
Released
on April 25, 2014, "Brick Mansions" has received predominantly
negative reviews with 29% on Rotten Tomatoes, a far cry from the 80% for "District
B13." Calling it 'choppily edited and largely bereft of plot,' critics
wrote off the film for wasting its 'likable cast on a pointless remake.'
Despite the enthusiastic response at the advance screening (I'm not even
surprised anymore at the modern moviegoers' crappy sense of taste), "Brick
Mansions" failed to make much of an impression at the box office as it
grossed only $9.5 million during opening weekend. It's a real shame that the
film is just so bad considering the lead actor's recent passing. I feel like
I'm disrespecting him even though I'm not. At least we have "Fast & Furious
7" next year. That should be a much more fitting tribute to Paul Walker.
Final
Rating: 1.5 out of 5
"Revenge
and justice is not the same thing. They never are."
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