Brick Mansions Review
RYAN: What’s this called? Brick Mansions?
CHUCK: (laughs)
RYAN: It’s such a ridiculous movie. It’s outrageous. The dialogue is, like, out of an old Bugs Bunny cartoon and the characters are such caricatures – a cop, a gangster…
CHUCK: They’re stereotypes.
RYAN: Major and I’m happy I didn’t have to pay to see this one – I would have wanted my money back.
CHUCK: I would have wanted to write a strongly-worded letter to all involved, including screenwriter Luc Besson. I had no expectations going in and the opening sequence was really good but then it’s all downhill after that.
RYAN: Yes that opening scene, which is a cool chase scene on foot – and some of the other action scenes take full advantage of Parkour: a gymnastic, acrobatic form of urban dance, developed like a military obstacle course. I first saw it in Madonna’s Jump music video and then here… David Belle plays the guy in this film who does it and he’s a genius at it.
CHUCK: He’s brilliant. He founded Parkour.
RYAN: The story is so stupid though.
CHUCK: The movie was really just a vehicle for the action scenes. It made no sense. It actually does a one-eighty. It changes at the end.
RYAN: Right. At first I thought it was a twist and then you realize, no… this movie is ridiculous and doesn’t make sense. It’s stupid.
CHUCK: You’re being kind. It’s as if this movie was directed by a second rate, knock off Michael Bay; the shots, the editing, etc… A lot of the production value felt like it was emulating that.
RYAN: It was rarely effective but I also felt lie I might have an epileptic seizure with some of the editing. It was out of control.
CHUCK: It just didn’t work.
RYAN: And it’s Paul Walker’s second to last film. The film is lovingly dedicated to him but it’s really not such an honor to his legacy. But it was so bittersweet seeing him because the film wasn’t ever good enough for you to forget about what happened to him. Plus, there were some really tasteless reminders of how he died. Like, he’s in a car crash in this movie. It’s sad.
CHUCK: I wonder how he became so typecast in these types of films. He does have a screen presence but I really only think of him in this genre.
RYAN: He did a few other things earlier on. But it just wasn’t like seeing James Gandalfini in Enough Said where you forgot he was gone because he so became the character.
CHUCK: Yeah this movie wasn’t good enough to really allow him to perform – it was so violent and yet they all walked away without a scratch.
RYAN: It’s PG-13 so there’s no blood. This movie might have mildly benefitted from an R rating. The violence is over the top and adds to what’s ridiculous about it.
CHUCK: It’s like they have plastic skin.
RYAN: We saw it so you don’t have to.
