One last look at Paul Walker

Film review: Brick Mansions

MANILA, Philippines - Whether you have already decided to watch Brick Mansions or will just let the opportunity pass, here are some facts about the action picture that I think you should know. 

The most important among these is that Brick Mansions is the last completed film of Paul Walker. As most of you already know, the actor who made his mark in the Fast & Furious series was killed in a car crash in California last Nov. 30, 2013. He had already finished work on Mansions by then. So, this is no piece by piece put-together to take advantage of the media mileage that his unexpected death brought about.

Brick Mansions is a remake of a French action film from a few years ago, District B13. The director is first-timer Camille Delamarre, who was the editor of Liam Neeson’s Taken 2, which despite the gore and high body count, I actually enjoyed watching. The screenwriter and producer is Luc Besson, the man behind blockbusters like La Femme Nikita, The Professional, The Fifth Element and others. 

Paired with Walker is the original star of District B13, the light-footed David Belle, acknowledged master of the martial art parkour. This involves the clever use of present surroundings to exhibit acrobatic skills or to save one’s self from pursuers. That means running across rooftops or vaulting over walls or any obstacle safely but with extraordinary speed. If you see a guy leaping up walls in a rubber shoes ad, there is a big chance he is doing parkour. Parkour is now in constant use in action films but Brick Mansions is its best showcase ever. So, Pinoys interested in parkour should not miss this fIick.

Parkour should also come in handy for anybody trapped in a city on its last gasps because of urban decay. This is what Brick Mansions is about. It is set in Detroit of the future, the year 2018 when crime has become so widespread that the only way to contain its blight is to wall off projects like the Brick Mansions. No one goes in or out the tenements without permission and as some sort of punishment for being bad, the citizens of Brick Mansions have been deprived not only of freedom to come and go as they please but also of social services like for example, garbage collection.

Walker as Damien Collier, an undercover cop, is sent inside to get the big-crime boss, Tremaine, played by Wu Tang Clan’s RZA. This guy is holding the city hostaged with a hijacked neutron bomb that is set to go off in 10 hours and could kill all of Detroit’s inhabitants. It is while inside that Walker meets Dupree played by Belle, who is wanted by Tremaine for having disposed of his drug cache. Together, these two must defuse the bomb and also save Dupree’s girlfriend who has been kidnapped and tied to the bomb. While at it, Damien can also exact revenge for the death of his father during a raid at the Mansions.

The contrasting Walker and Belle were obviously cast together to generate the buddy chemistry that Hollywood likes to have in action flicks. This does not happen, either because the script does not give them much to talk about or because the actors are so different in their acting styles. On their own though, they truly excel and evince exciting potentials as action heroes.

Belle is a graceful presence. Parkour has now become commonplace but the creativity in the way he does it can still make you marvel over what a disciplined body can do. As for Walker, he is a strong, handsome, portrait of grim determination laced with self-deprecating humor. Fast & Furious may have made him a household name but it is in outings like Brick Mansions that we see him grow into his own as an action star. It is so unfortunate that we will never see him come to fruition.

Brick Mansions is simple, escapist action fare with very good editing and awesome stunts that make for enjoyable movie watching. I am sure though that the reason most Pinoys will be watching will be to see Walker one last time. The actor was on his way home from a fundraiser of his organization Charity Reach Out Worldwide when he died. The money raised was meant to benefit victims of Supertyphoon Yolanda. He will always be a big action hero to the people of the Philippines.