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Brick Mansions

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Brick Mansions
Theatrical release poster
Directed byCamille Delamarre
Screenplay byLuc Besson
Based onBanlieue 13
by Luc Besson
Bibi Naceri
Produced by
  • Luc Besson
  • Claude Léger
  • Jonathan Vanger
Starring
CinematographyChristophe Collette
Edited by
  • Carlo Rizzo
  • Arthur Tarnowski
Music byTrevor Morris
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • April 23, 2014 (2014-04-23) (France)
  • April 25, 2014 (2014-04-25) (United States and Canada)
Running time
91 minutes[1]
Countries
  • France
  • Canada
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$28 million[2][3]
Box office$73.4 million[4]

Brick Mansions is a 2014 action 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. A co-production between France, Canada and the United States, 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

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In 2018, in a crime-ridden dystopian Detroit, a particularly notorious neighborhood has grown so dangerous that law enforcement is overwhelmed. Unable to control the crime, city officials build a colossal, 40 ft (12 m)-tall containment wall around this area, known as Brick Mansions, "the projects", or the "no-go zone", to cut it off from the rest of the city. Police monitor all movement in and out of Brick Mansions, and schools and hospitals within it have been 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 Duppre (David Belle), every day is a fight to live an honest life.

Lino is hunted by drug kingpin Tremaine Alexander (RZA) for stealing a massive amount of heroin and emptying it down a bathtub. Lino evades capture, and so Tremaine has his men capture Lino's girlfriend, Lola. Lino attempts to free her, and together they manage to escape and capture Tremaine in the Projects, turning him in to police at the border wall. However, Lino is shocked when the chief of police free Tremaine and arrest him instead; it turns out that the police have long been in Tremaine's pay. While arrested, Lino kills the police chief officer in revenge.

In the meantime, city officials have discovered that Tremaine has gained hold of a nuclear explosive and a small missile, which he plans to launch into downtown Detroit unless he obtains a ransom. Damien is sent undercover as a prisoner in order to free Lino so that the two can destroy the bomb together. Together, the two manage to escape from a police van. In the beginning they fight each other, both verbally and physically, but they eventually decide to work together - though not before Lino deduces that Damien is actually an undercover cop. Together, the two face off against Tremaine and his gang in order to free Lola and defuse the bomb.

As they are set to defuse the missile, Damien discovers that Tremaine was bluffing and never planned to actually launch it - and that Damien was sent not to defuse the missile but to unknowingly launch it, not into downtown Detroit but into Brick Mansions itself, in order to kill its inhabitants and clear the entire area for upscale development. Damien also finds out from Tremaine that his father was not killed by criminals but by his fellow officers, and that the mayor of Detroit was behind both plots. Damien, Lino, and Tremaine confront the mayor at his office and get him to admit his plan - then reveal that they have been secretly recording his statements. The mayor is then 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

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Production

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Principal photography began on April 30, 2013, in Montreal 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

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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

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On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 25% based on 95 reviews, with an average rating of 4.43/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Choppily edited and largely bereft of plot, Brick Mansions wastes a likable cast on a pointless remake of the far more entertaining District B13."[12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 40 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B+ on scale of A to F.[14]

Critic Jennifer Rodman, considered the film a "watered-down American version, similar in many forms...a huge disappointment".[15] 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."[16] Variety's Justin Chang called the film "propulsively entertaining" but was critical of the "aggressive cutting technique" which fails to allow audiences to fully appreciate the stuntwork and movements of the actors.[17] 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."[18] Lasalle concluded, "Things start off silly and end up laughable and ridiculous."[18] 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."[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Brick Mansions". bbfc.co.uk. British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  2. ^ Kaufman, Amy (April 24, 2014). "'Other Woman' to take down mighty 'Captain America' at box office". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 5, 2014. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  3. ^ "Brick Mansions (2014)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 13, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  4. ^ "Brick Mansions (2014) - Financial Information". Archived from the original on August 27, 2022. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Filming begin of Brick Mansions". studiosystemnews.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  6. ^ a b "'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. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  7. ^ Brandt, Jaclyn (January 10, 2013). "'Homeland' Actor May Be Replacing Paul Walker In Film". ContactMusic.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  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. Archived from the original on February 5, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  9. ^ Sneider, Jeff (February 6, 2014). "Paul Walker's Action Movie 'Brick Mansions' Gets New Release Date From Relativity". TheWrap.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  10. ^ Brick Mansions Official Trailer #1 (2014) - Paul Walker Action Movie HD. February 12, 2014 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ Enk, Bryan (March 20, 2014). "'Brick Mansions' Trailer Shows Off Paul Walker's Most Physical Role". movies.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on June 1, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  12. ^ "Brick Mansions (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  13. ^ "Brick Mansions Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  14. ^ "Brick Mansions (2014) B+". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on December 20, 2018.
  15. ^ Rodman, Jennifer (May 1, 2014). "Brick Mansions Disappoints Tenants". El Vaquero. Glendale Community College. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018 – via elvaq.com.
  16. ^ Pulver, Andrew (May 8, 2014). "Final Act: What Happens When a Film Turns Out to be a Star's Last". Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  17. ^ Chang, Justin (April 24, 2014). "Film Review: 'Brick Mansions'". Variety. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  18. ^ a b Lasalle, Mick (April 25, 2014). "Brick Mansions' saving grace: Walker's in it". San Francisco Chronicle-Herald. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  19. ^ Scott, A. O. (April 25, 2014). "A Rocket Is Aimed at Detroit (Run! Jump!)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 25, 2014. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
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