Director: Camille Delamarre
Stars: Paul Walker, David Belle, RZA
Genre: Action | Crime | Drama
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (frenetic gunplay, violence and action throughout, language, sexual menace and drug material)
Running Time: 90 Mins
Tagline: "Undercover and never Outgunned"
THE MOVIE ITSELF:
I am still in denial, it's hard to believe that Paul Walker is no longer with us, it's even harder to believe that of all the coincidences in the world- he tragically died in car accident; very reminiscent of what we see in the " Fast and Furious" films. Many will say that his acting was nothing special, that it was comparable to Keanu Reeves, I firmly disagree. While Brick Mansions may not be the best of his final work, his acting surely is, it's what saves this film from being a failed attempt in doing another pointless remake.
For those who don't know, Brick Mansions is a remake of a French film titled District B-13, which was a hit in France and obtained a cult following by some here in the states. I have to say that both the original and the remake are very comparable, almost scene by scene. They are so alike that they even used actor David Belle to reprise his same role. Curious thing I have to add is, David Belle played the part 10 year prior, and he hasn't aged a day. The second best part of the film has to be David's parkour which is done almost without use of wire work. The first 5 min alone is some of the craziest stunt work I have seen in years, not since Casino Royale's beginning.
As for the movie itself, it tells the story of an undercover cop (Paul Walker) who is assigned to enter Brick Mansions to disarm a nuclear rocket that could destroy all of the city and it's inhabitants. In order to enter Brick Mansions, he will be teamed up with a convict ( David Belle) who knows all of Brick Mansions. The other problem at hand is that the Nuclear weapon is at the hands of Tramaine Alexander (RZA) who is planning to sell the weapon to the highest bidder. The plot, while not entirely terrible, could have been enough to make a decent picture.
The result however, is a disjointed frenetic action movie that makes little to no sense. I love action movies as much as the next person, heck I don't mind if the movie is silly and doesn't take itself seriously (e.i. Expendables, Last Stand) But at least make the attempt at giving us that type of film. Let me elaborate without ruining the film, the action scenes in the movie while over the top, could have been enjoyed, had they tried to actually show the action...instead we get shaky camera and fast cut edits that distract the viewers from what is really going on. When is Hollywood going to learn that shaking your camera all over the place is not cool nor artistic. This same problem happened with the last two Bourne films, difference there being that the story was actually good and interesting.
BOTTOM LINE:
While it's nice to see Paul Walker in one his last completed film roles, it sucks to see him being the only real talent in this movie, which reminds me, RZA is one of the worst actors in this movie. I never understood the appeal of placing rap artist in action films, that's one of the crossovers that never made sense to me. So yeah, this movie is worth watching only if you can Redbox it or catch it for free on TV.
Stars: Paul Walker, David Belle, RZA
Genre: Action | Crime | Drama
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (frenetic gunplay, violence and action throughout, language, sexual menace and drug material)
Running Time: 90 Mins
Tagline: "Undercover and never Outgunned"
THE MOVIE ITSELF:
As for the movie itself, it tells the story of an undercover cop (Paul Walker) who is assigned to enter Brick Mansions to disarm a nuclear rocket that could destroy all of the city and it's inhabitants. In order to enter Brick Mansions, he will be teamed up with a convict ( David Belle) who knows all of Brick Mansions. The other problem at hand is that the Nuclear weapon is at the hands of Tramaine Alexander (RZA) who is planning to sell the weapon to the highest bidder. The plot, while not entirely terrible, could have been enough to make a decent picture.
BOTTOM LINE:
While it's nice to see Paul Walker in one his last completed film roles, it sucks to see him being the only real talent in this movie, which reminds me, RZA is one of the worst actors in this movie. I never understood the appeal of placing rap artist in action films, that's one of the crossovers that never made sense to me. So yeah, this movie is worth watching only if you can Redbox it or catch it for free on TV.
