User reviews

Acceptable remake filled with nail-biting action , thrills , spectacular scenes and plot twists . It deals with an undercover Detroit cop (Paul Walker) navigates a dangerous neighborhood that's surrounded by a containment wall with the help of an ex-con in order to bring down a crime lord and his plot to devastate the entire city . Thrilling and violent movie with a phenomenal starring pair and in which Paul Walker and David Belle cast all the Stuntmen themselves . Set in the rundown ghettos of Detroit , Michigan , when an undercover cop and an ex-thug try to infiltrate into a block , a police precinct and Town Hall in order to save their barrios when some enemies are bent on destroying the tower blocks at the heart of the District with tactical precision bombing . As Damien Collier (Paul Walker) and Lino (David Belle , the originator of Le Parkour) are reunited upon to avoid a bombing on destroying the blocks at the heart of District and save the city . They have to confront a dangerous delinquent called Tremain (RZA) , corrupt Police Chief from the Department of Internal State Security , and even the highest authorities , including the Mayor (Bruce Ramsay) . With acrobatic skillfulness and adrenaline pumping belief in their own abilities , they throw themselves out from incredible heights, and jump from roof to roof ; locked doors and 'No Trespassing' signs become irresistible challenges . They face off their enemies in order to avoid the total destruction their district , as Damien and Lito convince the gang lords to band together to prevent it when the high command authorizing the strike .

¨Brick Mansions ¨ is an amazing film that packs suspense , thrills, noisy action , shootouts and violent fights . This film is a remake of the French film "District B13" which stars David Belle in the same role as in this movie and again the main couple is unabashed in its dedication to fanboy stunt work . From the beginning to the final the noisy action and fast movement is unstopped , including impressive scenes in which bounds and leaps through apartments blocks and at moments give the impression that they are flying . This is a frenetic rehash of ¨Escape from NY¨ and ¨District 13¨ rightly realized in American style . The highlights of the movie are overwhelming fights and The Parkour , also known in USA as Free Running whose origin was in ¨Yamasaki¨ film directed by Ariel Zeitoun , Julien Seri and also produced by Luc Besson with his production company called ¨EuropaCorps¨ . Paul Walker as a hard-rock , two-fisted agent is top-notch . Duo protagonist , Paul Walker and David Belle , more than make up for in an skill to soar across a rolling medley highrise flats blocks . The way in which the actors prove this abilities , is in fact an activity called Parkour and was invented by David Belle himself , influenced by his father Raymond Belle . David Belle also choreographed some fight sequences . Paul Walker and David Belle had several months to prepare all their fight stunts for the film . Paul Walker stared in "Running Scared" (2006) as an undercover cop , the same role he played in "Brick Mansions" (2014), it's also the character he performed in "The Fast and the Furious" (2001) as Brian O'Connor . Paul Walker's last fully completed acting , although his final film performance was in Fast & Furious 7 which he was filming at the time of his death . In fact , the ending title has a beloved homage : ¨In loving memory of Paul Walker¨ . Good and atmospheric cinematography using Steadicam and zooms with numerous locations from Detroit skyline and slums ; being shot on location in Detroit , Michigan and Montreal , Quebec , Canada . Adequate production design , as the Gate 38 location was also used in Death Race (2008) as a part of the race track . There is an appropriate as well as colorful cinematography by Christophe Collette . The musician Trevor Morris creates a stirring , rousing soundtrack fitting to moving action . Lavishly produced by Ryan Kavanaugh and the successful French producer/director Luc Besson who formerly produced the French versions , these are the followings : District 13 or Banlieue 13 (original title) (2004) by Pierre Morel with Cyrill Raffaelli , David Belle and District 13: Ultimatum or Banlieue 13: Ultimatum (original title)(2009) by Patrick Alessandrin with Cyril Raffaelli , David Belle and Philippe Torreton.

¨Brick mansions¨ was professionally realized by Camille Delamare though with no originality . Filmmaker Camille gives the action a dance-like quality and the whole movie lasted various months for production , idea , script , casting , filming, etc . Rating : Passable and acceptable , though inferior sequel . well worth seeing , this is an agreeable follow-up . The picture will appeal to explosive action fans .

I saw the original back in 2006 and absolutely loved it and its sequel. I had high expectations for this purely because I always wished they had made a third and when I saw Paul Walker was involved I had hoped this remake would be on par or better. Unfortunately I was wrong. While Brick Mansions is not a terrible film my viewing was ruined due to my love of the first one which this is almost a shot for shot copy of. My love of the French original may have set the bar too high it seems. Also my only major personal gripe is the voice dubbing of David belle. For some reason it struck a nerve with me and I could never really appreciate any scene. If you're looking for a good way to blow 2 hours or haven't seen the original by all means go see it but for myself this was just not what I had expected. Solid 6/10.

In a near future Detroit, the crime-ridden ghetto of Brick Mansions has been walled off from the rest of the city. The mayor is determined to redevelop the isolated neighborhood. Lino (David Belle) is an acrobatic vigilante determined to take down drug lord Tremaine Alexander (RZA). Tremaine kidnaps his ex Lola to use as bait. Lino is captured by a corrupt cop who he ends up killing. Undercover cop Damien Collier (Paul Walker) is tasked with recovering a stolen military neutron bomb which is set to go off in ten hours.

This is an Americanized version of District B13. I liked the Euro campiness and the action of B13. The return of Belle helps with both. The Parkour is fun and ridiculous. It's all joyously stupid action. It actually takes a step down when a serious Paul Walker comes onto the screen. He lacks the stupidity and the campiness. The movie actually doesn't need his initial undercover sting. He's a little better when he pairs up with Belle. Quite frankly, Walker's character is not strictly needed. There is a twist about bomb which is very obvious. It would help to not have the mayor do his evil villain thing so early on. I do like that Lola is no damsel in distress. She's a great bad azz. This works best with Parkouring Belle with his Euro campiness although what's he doing in Detroit is beyond me.

Considering I had never heard of this film until about a month before it's release and had low expectations for the movie initially, This movie did surprisingly provide a good hour and a half of B - movie entertainment.I hadn't seen the original film either, So I didn't have any biases to compare it to something else. Now seeing the trailer for district B13, it looks awesome and I'll definitely watch it and than compare the two films. "Brick Mansions" may not have had the best acting or original plot/characters , but it does provide on some inventive and cool action sequences. Parkour, martial arts, fights and eye candy for the guys to look at make the movie a watchable popcorn flick. The stunts and action sequences, especially with David Belle is what stood out and made a fun movie. Only one thing would have made the movie better and that was if it had been rated R. A little more blood and gore shown would have definitely made it a more high impact action flick. Overall, If your looking for a simple and not so demanding action film for a quick 90 mins, I'd recommend it. Take it for what it is and keep your expectations appropriate for a movie like this.

6/10

Dystopian Detroit. Criminal exploits. No name thugs. Guns and drugs. These are probably words, phrases, and tags seen before in other movies, and apt descriptors of Brick Mansions. The movie is a remake of 2004′s french title District B13 and stars the late Paul Walker as police officer Damien Collier. For about a year, Damien has been undercover looking to take down Tremaine (RZA), a kingpin who also killed Damien's father while he was in the line of duty.

Tremaine and crew reside in Brick Mansions, a place so dangerous they built a wall around it to protect the rest of the city. Brick Mansions, once a place of great prosperity, is now a hellhole no man or woman should venture into.

To take down Tremaine though, Damien will need help. Lino Dupree is an in and out con who isn't really a bad guy, but more of a victim of circumstance. As a resident, he knows Brick Mansions like the back of his hand. For Lino, it becomes personal when his girlfriend is taken hostage by Tremaine. To save Detroit and exact revenge, the reluctant duo must come together for a common cause.

Brick Mansions is not going to blow anyone away, which should not be appalling looking at the trailers. It really does possess a straight to home media vibe, from the cast to the direction. But you know what? I did not think it was completely terrible and dare I say I was still kind of entertained, all because I knew what I was getting into. In no way does this absolve the film's problems, and it was not worth 11 dollars, but I have felt much worse spending my hard earned cash on other cinema films.

Let's get right down to the acting, specifically Paul Walker's in his last full role. It is not controversial to call Mr. Walker an average actor, and many of the roles and movies he starred in were never that acclaimed. He knew his limitations, and there is no fault in that. One thing he often had in most roles though was screen presence and silent charisma, which is evident here. It may sound politically correct, but he really is the best thing about Brick Mansions. Likable, endearing, and just a good guy to pull for.

As for the rest of the acting, it is downright abysmal. Maybe a quarter of this is due to the dreadful dialogue, which falls into the typical hard sounding thug talk that is supposed to be realistic and fear- invoking, but comes off as dated and hilarious. David Belle, one of the founders of Parkour, brings amazing physical feats to the silver screen, but his acting chops are nonexistent. To add insult to injury, he clearly struggles with the English language which ends up resulting in horribly dubbed dialogue.

Still, he is not the worst actor in this movie. That title indisputably belongs to RZA. His Tremaine is supposed to be menacing and unflinching, but time and time again he brings the same facial expression to the character, and the dialogue delivered by him may be the worst heard all year. He has no thespian talent, plain and simple, and it is time that Hollywood stop giving this man so many chances. Honestly, there are worse actors present, especially RZA's main henchman who is just as offensive, but none have the billing that RZA does in this.

The plot itself is nothing to write home about, and is somewhat absurd and slightly predictable. Just take it for what it is. There are times late when the movie makes thinly veiled allusions to present day Detroit and the Occupy Wall Street movement, but it basically is a popcorn movie existing to showcase guns, stunts, and fisticuffs. The only big issue had is that everything wraps up too nicely given that the movie was a full on war moments before. As a whole, it is nothing that hasn't been done or seen previously (and better at that), but at least it only last 90 minutes.

There really are some well done set pieces from time to time. Parkour may be a passing fad now, but when done right, it is still a treat to witness, and David Belle moves effortlessly between chasms and rooftops seamlessly. Paul Walker provides more hand to hand and firearm combat, and he looks right at home in this element. Problem is, director Camille Delamarre (Taken 2, Transporter 3, Columbiana) uses terrible framing and janky editing during a lot of these scenes. It is quite sad, as Belle and Walker are clearly doing some good things. For some asinine reason though, this man insists that wobbly framing, needless zooms and archaic Matrix-like slow motion is needed. Not all looked bad, but a more consistent steady hand could have worked wonders.

Brick Mansions is unimpressive, but crazy to say, also enjoyable. Heavily flawed, but entertaining (in a bad way half of the time) and fast paced enough to check out through rental or Netflix. Non action fans should avoid at all costs. With tempered expectations though, Walker fans and action fans may find enough here for mild satisfaction. A perfect film to throw on in the background and not think too much.

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This movie is a bad REMAKE of the original french production: "Banlieue 13" ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414852/ )...

And believe when I say that it's not worth your time! The first movie has better acting and story! That is obvious by comparing the ratings of both monies... And to top that of, in the second movie they changed some details that you know "made sense"!!!

All in all, i recommend to anyone to watch the first movie! And i guarantee that you enjoy 84 minutes packed with action, free running, shooting and fighting...

ENJOY!

I like the good cinematography, even the opening credits alone already made me liked it. David Belle is still very cool with his spins, back-flips, jumps and other stunts. It has been 10 years but I don't see any degradation of his parkour skills.

Paul Walker did good as Belle's partner-in-crime, even though he can't do parkour, he still kicked-ass. Catalina Dennis who plays Belle's girlfriend is consistent with her character, a tough girl who doesn't stand still with unfair treatments. The lousy one is RZA who plays the drug lord Tremain. Well, in my opinion he can't act, his face expression just doesn't make it.

For those who like parkour but haven't watched Banlieue 13, this might as well be in your watchlist. It's still okay even if you have watched Banlieue 13 (like me), because it was in French and it felt quite weird, even with subtitles.

I saw this picture not because is Paul Walker's last movie, but because it is David Belle's latest. Founder of Parkour, I already saw his amazing stunts in both District 13 movies, along with Cyril Raffaelli excellent action scenes where it shows all the training he's had with acrobatics, shotokan karate and wushu.

Except for Belle's updated stunts, there's nothing else to see here.

Over-explained characters, "softened" plot, sympathetic villains; if you want to know how Hollywood dumbs down movies there's nothing better than to watch this and the original District 13 back to back. From the use of camera speed to the editing of fight scenes, the original french movies are far superior.

Too many people literally panned this because it diddn't compare to the original. I personally never rate movies that are remade by that, I rate it solely on the movie itself.

This movie is a non stop aderenaline rush. Great action, cool stunts, good acting, and entertaining story. Also was emotional seeing Paul Walker in this last movie since he had died. Only reason this diddn't get a 10 from me was because I thought visuals could been slightly better. But outside that great all around and would definitely recommend it.

"Banlieue 13" was one of the best surprises I had in 2004. This movie is pure adrenaline; actually one of the best action movies that I have recently seen. The greatest attractions are the performances of David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli. David Belle is co-inventor of the sport known as Parkour, "which consists of moving freely in a natural area, including climbing on buildings and taking on whatever is in the way". Cyril Raffaelli is also stunt coordinator and stunt. Together, they are awesome, with amazing choreography that recalls Jackie Chan when he was young. The direction and the story are also good, hooking the attention until the very last scene.

"Brick Mansions" is a bad remake or "copy-paste" and a poor legacy of Paul Walker's filmography. He did not deserve this turkey as his last (and least) movie. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "13° Distrito" ("13th District")

This film tells the story of a undercover police who infiltrates the most feared criminal world of the city, called Brick Mansions.

Right from the start, the stylish action scenes keep me engrossed. All the seemingly impossible, and almost acrobatic jumps are very impressive. They are quite unbelievable but in a good way, as it astonishes rather than making my eyes roll in disbelief. The plot is great, and there is even an unexpected plot twist which adds to the thrill and urgency to the race to save the city from mass destruction. The late Paul Walker did very well as a dedicated policeman who had his eyes on revenge. I enjoyed this film thoroughly, and I'm entertained throughout.

'Brick Mansions' will forever be rememberedas Paul Walker's final completed film, the star best known for being one of the leads in the 'Fast and Furious' franchise still mourned after losing his life in a single car accident late last year. But were it not for Walker's death, it would most certainly be his French co-star David Belle's show instead, for 'Mansions' is without a doubt his calling card to Hollywood by giving them a taste of a certain brand of action called parkour.

For the uninitiated, parkour refers to a style of movement which utilises the body's momentum and maximises objects in the surroundings to enable a person to get around obstacles in the most efficient way possible. Belle happens to be one of the eight founders of the discipline, which was given prominence in Luc Besson's 'District 13' and its sequel 'District 13: Ultimatum' that Belle himself also starred in. Yes, 'Mansions' is Besson's English-language remake of his earlier 'District 13', with Belle returning to star as the unlikely partner of an undercover cop who wages war against a gang lord.

The names of the characters may have been tweaked a little - Belle's character, for instance, is now called Lino instead of the original's Leïto - but the story remains largely the same. Instead of a younger sister, it is Lino's ex-girlfriend Lola (Catalina Denis) who has been held hostage by the gang lord Tremaine Alexander (RZA) and his men, the former of whom is also the de facto leader of the titular neighbourhood. It is 2018, and within a post-industrial Detroit lies a criminal and junki-littered ghetto that is walled off from the rest of the city and guarded by the military.

A thrilling opening sequence which sets up the personal feud between Lino and Tremaine as the former evades the latter's henchmen led by K2 (Gouchy Boy) is as awesome an introduction as one can ask for to the art of parkour, which involves plenty of running, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping, rolling, quadrupedal movement and the like. Culminating in the detonation of a grenade as Belle leaps across the roof of one building to another, it's not hard to understand why the setup for Walker's narcotics agent Damian Collier - that sees him take down the drug kingpin George the Greek (Carlo Rota) - pales in comparison.

The raison d'être for their unlikely partnership is a neutron bomb which K2 has stolen from the city's authorities that is armed and aimed at downtown Detroit. Logic isn't the movie's strong suite of course, and you'd just have to accept that the city's hopes fall on a lone though decorated cop and an ex-convict. Once you get past that however, you'll start to appreciate the movie's small pleasures.

For one, Walker and Belle make a pretty cool tag-team, especially in scenes where they have to rely on each other to get out of a tight situation. The cardboard villains are also suitably over-the-top - in addition to the not so competent K2, Robert Maillet's appropriately named Yeti is a cartoonish but entertaining foil for our two protagonists. Denis is great eye candy for the male members of the audience, and looks absolutely stunning in a fetish-stimulating kind of way with her uniform getup. But of course, the attraction here remains the gravity-defying stunts, which Belle - and to a far less but no less significant extent, Walker - pulls off impressively. There isn't much that first-time feature director Camille Delamarre (who probably got the job by cutting his teeth as editor on notable Besson productions such as Taken 2, Colombiana and Transporter 3) adds to the picture, but he does know a thing or two for keeping the momentum of the film going by dialing up the action and keeping the exposition to a necessary minimum.

And really, to expect more of 'Brick Mansions' would certainly be unfair, for it aspires to be nothing more than an adrenaline-pumping diversion meant to introduce the grace and fluidity of the sport of parkour to a wider audience. That we can say the movie accomplishes beautifully, as well as in making a star out of David Belle. As for Walker, he does get behind the wheel for a couple of car chases, though some viewers will undoubtedly find that difficult to watch given the manner of his death. Still, it's as befitting a movie as any to the memory of Walker, but perhaps even more so as solid an introduction as any for his co-star Belle, and in its setting as well as its stunts as distinctive as one can ask for in an urban-based action movie.

This English-language remake of the excellent DISTRICT 13 was once again made by the French, albeit shot in Canada this time around. It's pretty much a scene-for-scene remake of the original, although inevitably not as good for reasons which we shall come to. It's only as the running time goes on that crucial differences to the original come to light and unfortunately they're not improvements.

First, let's get the good stuff listed. This is a short, snappy, action thriller, with plenty of shoot-outs and fight scenes to recommend it. The framing is often good and there's a fine sense of setting in the grubby, run-down locations. One of the highlights is the return of David Belle, playing the same character as he did in the original; it's just an annoyance that they decided to dub him rather than have him use his French accented English.

Paul Walker is an odd but obvious choice for Cyril Raffaelli's character in the original, but he's no martial artist so the martial arts fights have been replaced by fist fights and a greater emphasis on car chases. Catalina Denis and Ayisha Issa are the requisite scantily-clad women who hang around to show off their bodies and little more is required of them than that.

The problems are slight at first but begin to mount up as the narrative progresses. First off, the editing is horrendous. The early Parkour scenes are ruined by the refusal to shoot the stunts in single, fluid takes; there's always a dodgy edit halfway through, cutting to a different angle and lessening the impact. Sometimes one of Belle's jumps has three or four edits in it which ruins the whole flow of the thing. BRICK MANSIONS does a lot right, but it gets this crucial editing oh so wrong. I remember in the old days of Jackie Chan's 1980s movies that they sometimes wanted to capture a stunt from different angles, so they would just replay it, which was a much better way of doing it.

The second problem is RZA, playing the drug dealer villain of the piece. RZA is one of those guys who really loves himself and the film-makers seem to love him too, so there's an unbelievable twist at the end which has to be seen to be believed. The ending is frankly laughable in this respect, and a far cry from the power of the original movie. It's the epitome of sanitised, PG-13 entertainment, and I could cry. At least the rest of the film is in the right spirit, so it's only the ending where it falls apart.

The beginning of the film might make audiences feel a bit of awful due to the unusual style of camera shaking but when it progresses, it appears to be just an entertaining popcorn action flick overshadowing an expected familiar plot combining politics, drugs, gangsters, cops and cars. Most of the action scenes are fast and enjoying with additional special military gymnastic styles performed by David Belle, though slightly unrealistic accompanying by a just moderate story. There are a few funny moment between Paul Walker and David Belle thanks to their perfect chemistry but the film surprises audiences with an emotional ending that is almost the same feeling as Fast 5 which triggers the recalling of the lost of our great actor, Walker himself.

In terms of high velocity action, this movie has it in spades.

The original was awesome and so is this.

The filmography and editing is terrific and the action evolves at a fast pace.

I honestly have no idea how any one who just wants to enjoy a great action film with some super cool stunts wouldn't love this movie.

This really has some unique sequences in it, which should be seen.

The acting is good and Paul Walker is, well he's just Paul Walker, a really cool dude who I always enjoy watching.

Again just numb out and enjoy this terrific high throttle action film.

If you enjoy the action genre that includes over the top stunts and action shots that leave you marveling at the athletics and wishing you could do that, while chuckling to yourself "seriously", you will enjoy this as much as I did. I was captured from beginning to end. But I will admit I'm a huge fan of these types of over the top but completely entertaining (for me, anyway) action flicks. The one man army mentality and opening scenes live up to that expectation. Chase scenes, fight scenes that produce no wounds or blood *chuckle* add to the action.Although I have never seen the French film this replicated, I enjoyed this version.

Literally no reason to watch this garbage. You'll live a more fruitful life by spending an hour and a half getting kicked in the throat.