Brick Mansions

As the summer movie season is starting to rev up--with only a week to go, the more we see those type of films that please the brunt of the fans--18-34 year-old single males, the more one can tell that summer is right around the corner. We've already seen some of these films: "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", "300: Rise of an Empire", "Need for Speed", "Non-Stop", and now we have "Brick Mansions".

An undercover Detroit cop, Damien Collier (Paul Walker) navigates 'Brick Mansions'--a dangerous neighborhood that's surrounded by a containment wall with the help of ex-con, Lino (David Belle) in order to bring down a crime lord, Tremaine Alexander (RZA) and his plot to devastate the entire downtown area. Through amazing stunts--in and out of cars, Collier and Lino must fight off Tremaine's army including K2 (Gouchy Boy), Rayzah (Ayisha Issa) and looming large, Yeti (Robert Mallet) in order to reach Tremaine before time runs out for all--the good, bad and indifferent.

Others to round out the cast are Catalina Denis as Lola, Lino's girlfriend, Andreas Apergis as Berringer, Richard Zeman as Mayor Reno, Bruce Ramsay as Mayor, Frank Fontaine as Collier's Grandfather, Chimwemwe Dave Miller as Accountant, Bradshaw Anderson as Roy and Ryan Trudeau as Floyd.

This was directed with incredible rapid speed by Camille Delamarre. This is his first theatrical film helming this movie, but he has edited many other similar films which is the reason why the editing in this was top notch. He didn't edit it, but being director, his input toward the editing process is paramount. This was written by Luc Besson and  Bibi Naceri based on their screenplay, "Banlieue 13". Besson's writings are usually written in a slick, tightly conceived way, and even though this is not what I would call one of Besson's best creations, there were still enough twists in it to make it compelling. This is not a literary type of film--it's an action, high-adrenaline packed film one would expect at this time of year. The real star here is actually the stunt coordinator, Alexandre Cadieux ("Frisson des collines" '11, "The Words" '12, "Deadfall" '12, "Before My Heart Falls" '12, "1er amour" '13, "Amsterdam" '13). The stunts in coordination with the directing and the editing were mouth dropping. As for Paul Walker, this was certainly not his best, by it wasn't the worst project he's been in, and being his 'swan song', this film is definitely a project one would think of if they were thinking of a film he would star in.

Look, this was never meant to be made as an Oscar contender, so with that established, this is a film worthy of viewing, as a great vehicle so guys out there can sit back and purely escape.

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                           Rated: PG-13                         90mins.