Brick Mansions

Brick Mansions
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Camille Delamarre
Produced by Luc Besson
Claude Léger
Jonathan Vanger
Screenplay by Luc Besson
Based on Banlieue 13 by Luc Besson and Bibi Naceri
Starring Paul Walker
David Belle
RZA
Goûchy Boy
Catalina Denis
Carlo Rota
Music by Trevor Morris
Cinematography Christophe Collette
Edited by Carlo Rizzo
Arthur Tarnowski
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures (UK)
Relativity Media (USA)
VVS Films (Canada)
Release date
  • April 23, 2014 (2014-04-23) (France)
  • April 25, 2014 (2014-04-25) (Canada & US)
Running time
 90 minutes[1]
Country France
Canada[2]
Language English
Budget $28 million[3]
Box office $69 million[4]

Brick Mansions is a 2014 English-language French-Canadian crime-thriller film starring Paul Walker, David Belle, RZA, also starring Goûchy Boy, Catalina Denis and Carlo Rota. The film was directed by Camille Delamarre and written by Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen and Bibi Naceri. It is a remake of the 2004 French film District 13, in which Belle had also starred.[5][6]

Brick Mansions was released on April 25, 2014, five months after Walker's death on November 30, 2013 and has a dedication to him at the start of the credits. This was Walker's penultimate film, followed by his final film appearance in Furious 7.[7]

Plot

In 2018, in a dystopian Detroit, abandoned brick mansions from better times house dangerous criminals. Unable to control the crime, city officials built a colossal containment wall that is 40 FT tall and has been constructed around this area known as the projects, or the "no go zone" to protect the rest of the city. Police monitor all movement in and out of Brick Mansions in which schools and hospitals in this dangerous area are shut down. For undercover cop Damien Collier (Paul Walker), every day is a battle against corruption after the death of his father. For French-Caribbean ex-convict Lino (David Belle), every day is a fight to live an honest life. (Lino starred in District B13 and continues his role in this story.) Damien maintains a charming, intelligent, and consistent character throughout the film. When drug kingpin Tremaine Alexander (RZA) kidnaps Lino's girlfriend and holds her captive as Lino stole a massive amount of heroin and emptied it down a bathtub, Damien reluctantly accepts Lino's help and together they struggle to save Lino's girlfriend and stop a sinister plot that involves a stolen bomb set to destroy the entire city. Initially Lino was deceived by trusted police officials as he was under the assumption that Tremaine was wanted for being a highly dangerous criminal. Lino was not aware that Tremaine had been making payments to the police station as police officials were corrupt. Formerly trusted police officials allow Tremaine to leave with Lino's girlfriend and lock Lino up in a prison cell. Lino kills a police official in attempt to escape and save his girlfriend. Lino is put in the back of a police van where he meets Damien, an under cover cop playing the role of another prisoner. Damien uncuffs his handcuffs, throws the police out of the car, and then helps Lino to escape. At first, Damien and Lino fight both verbally and physically, but they quickly learn how to work together for the greater good. Moreover, there is also some girl fighting action between Lino's Spanish waitress girlfriend and Tremaine's assistant that portrays herself to be bisexual. To overcome Tremaine is not an easy task as he is an incredibly powerful leader with an army of heavily armed individuals ready to protect him at any cost. Eventually, with the help of Lino and Tremaine, Damien realizes at the end of the film that his father was killed by his fellow officers that he trusted and that the mayor of Detroit was behind the plot. Damien, Lino and Tremaine confront the mayor and manage to prove his true intentions and have him publicly humiliated on the news after compromising plotting an attack on Brick Mansions precedence and then he is arrested. Brick Mansions is welcomed back into the city, with Damien and Lino continuing their friendship. Tremaine runs for Mayor of Detroit, promoting the idea of equality and freedom.

Cast

  • Paul Walker as Damien Collier
  • David Belle as Lino Duppre
  • RZA as Tremaine Alexander
  • Gouchy Boy as K2
  • Catalina Denis as Lola
  • Carlo Rota as George the Greek
  • Kwasi Songui as Big Cecil
  • Robert Maillet as Yeti
  • Ayisha Issa as Rayzah
  • Richard Zeman as Reno
  • Bruce Ramsay as Mayor
  • Andreas Apergis as Berringer
  • Ryan Trudeau as Floyd
  • Chimwemwe Miller as the Accountant
  • Kwasi Songui as Big Cecil
  • Carolina Bartczak as Nurse Clara

Production

Principal photography began on April 30, 2013, and the film was released in 2014 by EuropaCorp. Relativity Media distributed the film.[5] Following Walker's death, the North American release was scheduled for February and French release for April 23.[6][8] On February 6, 2014, Relativity and EuropaCorp announced a move to April 25, 2014 as a release date for the film, along with paying the cost of the film's world premiere and distribution.[9]

Release

The first official trailer was released on February 13, 2014, featuring the DJ Snake and Lil Jon song "Turn Down for What".[10] The second full trailer was released on March 20, 2014.[11]

Reception

Reviews for Brick Mansions have been generally negative. Rotten Tomatoes gives a 26% rating based on 88 reviews. The site's consensus states, "Choppily edited and largely bereft of plot, Brick Mansions wastes a likable cast on a pointless remake of the far more entertaining District 13."[12] Metacritic gives the film a 40/100 rating, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13] One critic considered the film a "watered-down American version, similar in many forms...a huge disappointment".[14] Andrew Pulver wrote in The Guardian, "to be honest, Brick Mansions is not a great film — it kind of skimps on the parkour, the main reason why anyone went to see District 13."[15] However, some critics have been more positive. Isaac Feldberg of We Got This Covered called the film "a highly entertaining action thriller". He gushed, "If Brick Mansions is to serve as his [Paul Walker's] final work, it's relieving, at least, to know that it's his best, and an appropriately sensational capstone to a career built on pulse-pounding, jaw-dropping action spectaculars." Variety's Justin Chang added that the film was "propulsively entertaining." Mick Lasalle of The San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "The movie itself makes that impossible to forget. There are cars all over the movie - car chases, car crashes, crazy driving, a scene of Walker hanging from a speeding car, and even a scene of Walker and another guy going 80 miles an hour when the brakes and the steering give out. Apart from that, there's just the awkwardness of looking at someone on screen and knowing more about him than he knows about himself."[16] Lasalle concluded, "Things start off silly and end up laughable and ridiculous."[16] A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote, "this movie, a remake of the 2004 French franchise-starter District B13, can be enjoyably crazy in its hectic, cartoonish way" but that it is also "brawny, dumb and preposterous."[17]

See also

  • District 13: Ultimatum – sequel to the original (District 13). The film, directed by Patrick Alessandrin and written and produced by Luc Besson (who also wrote and produced the first film), sees parkour artists David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli reprising their original roles of Leïto and Damien.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "Brick Mansions". bbfc.co.uk. British Board of Film Classification.
  2. ↑ "Brick Mansions". unifrance.org. uniFrance Films. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  3. ↑ Kaufman, Amy (April 24, 2014). "'Other Woman' to take down mighty 'Captain America' at box office". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Brick Mansions (2014)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Filming begin of Brick Mansions". studiosystemnews.com. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  6. 1 2 "'Brick Mansions', le reboot US de 'Banlieue 13' avec Paul Walker, sortira finalement en France le 23 avril 2013" (in French). AlloCiné. January 13, 2014.
  7. ↑ Brandt, Jaclyn (January 10, 2013). "'Homeland' Actor May Be Replacing Paul Walker In Film". ContactMusic.com.
  8. ↑ Busch, Anita (December 2, 2013). "Other Paul Walker Movies Headed To Big Screen Cautious Over How To Proceed: 'We Need A Bit Of Time'". Deadline Hollywood.
  9. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (6 February 2014). "Paul Walker's Action Movie 'Brick Mansions' Gets New Release Date From Relativity". thewrap.com. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  10. ↑ "Brick Mansions Official Trailer #1 (2014) - Paul Walker Action Movie HD" – via YouTube.
  11. ↑ Enk, Bryan (20 March 2014). "'Brick Mansions' Trailer Shows Off Paul Walker's Most Physical Role". movies.yahoo.com. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  12. ↑ Brick Mansions at Rotten Tomatoes
  13. ↑ Brick Mansions at Metacritic
  14. ↑ Rodman, Jennifer (May 1, 2014). "Brick Mansions Disappoints Tenants". El Vaquero. Glendale Community College. Retrieved July 25, 2018 – via elvaq.com.
  15. ↑ Pulver, Andrew (May 8, 2014). "Final Act: What Happens When a Film Turns Out to be a Star's Last". Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  16. 1 2 Lasalle, Mick (April 25, 2014). "Brick Mansions' saving grace: Walker's in it". San Francisco Chronicle-Herald. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  17. ↑ Scott, A. O. (April 25, 2014). "A Rocket Is Aimed at Detroit (Run! Jump!)". The New York Times. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Banlieue 13 ultimatum: Casting complet" (in French). AlloCiné. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
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