Brick Mansions takes place in a dystopian Detroit (only four years from now) where huge mansions lie abandoned and taken over by gangsters. Hospitals and schools have been removed and to combat the anything goes nature of the newly formed compounds, law enforcement has walled off these areas to protect the public. It’s a tactic that didn’t work in Pacific Rim and doesn’t work here when notorious drug lord Tremaine Alexander (a thoroughly entertaining RZA) has a neutron bomb attached to a missile pointed at city hall.
The godfather of French action cinema, Luc Besson writes and produces this remake of the over-the-top French actioner District 13: Ultimatum with the star of that film (David Belle) and the late Paul Walker. Walker is familiar with playing an undercover cop from the Fast and Furious franchise and he relies on those same beats playing officer Damien Collier; they even throw him behind the wheel for a brief bit of stunt driving.
Undercover cop Collier would like nothing more than to see Tremaine behind bars. The ruthless gangster killed his father years ago and Collier would give anything for the chance to take the crook down. That chance comes in the form of career ex-convict Lino (David Belle). Lino has his own beef with Tremaine after his girlfriend (Catalina Denis) was taken by the gangster. Given his rapsheet, Lino poses a lot of risks, but Damien needs an “in” to get close enough to take Tremaine down, and Lino is all they have. If they both want to live in Detroit anymore, they’re going to have to work together to dismantle that bomb before it goes off.
Brick Mansions is a pure B-movie, using Parkour stunts (Belle is one of eight founders of the movement) to put a new enough spin on a by-the-numbers plot . Once the story and motivations are established, the ninety minute running time is largely spent with the principle actors running around a giant complex kicking ass.
Like The Raid before it, Brick Mansions loads up a complex full of villains while Walker and Belle fight their way in and out of it. Everything that follows is a high octane haze of punches, stunts and explosions with just a hint of a story to wrap everything up. The mile a minute pace is to the film’s benefit; whenever the story slows down for dialogue or plot, its shortcomings quickly become clear.
Collier and Lino take pot shots at each other for their respective stuffiness and accent; should readers not find this kind of humor suitable then take comfort in knowing that Walker and Belle speak very little for most of the film. More irritating is a very odd scene involving Lola (Denis) getting licked suggestively by the only other woman of note in the film. Catalina Denis already gets very little to do except cry for help; why add a scene just to remind audiences that this movie is aimed squarely at men?
Director Camille Delamarre isn’t going for an Academy Award nomination with his first feature. Brick Mansions is very clearly meant for a specific demographic of action lovers and in that limited regard, the film is a success. Delamarre cut his teeth in the editing booth for the whip-fast Colombiana, Lockout, and Taken 2 and he brings that experience to a constantly increasing series of fist fights, leaps and crashes.
Good or bad, this is the final film Paul Walker completed before his passing and that may impact its critical reception. It’s certainly not an awful film, though it does have some groan inducing moments that manage to even detract from the pleasure of watching RZA speak in third person. The final result is passable enough to justify a rental a for action lovers, but for everyone else Brick Mansions deserves a pass.
