FILM REVIEW OF ''BRICK MANSIONS" (2014)

Acclaimed French filmmaker Luc Besson has a knack for recycling material.  Nevertheless, he knows how to write riveting action thrillers. “La Femme Nikita,” “The Transporter” trilogy, “Kiss of the Dragon,” “Taken,” “Taken 2,” “Lockout,” ‘The Family,” “Leon: The Professional,” and “Colombian” illustrate his expertise.  Besson’s heroes and heroines are stalwart souls who refuse to be intimidated by either formidable foes or odds.  Revenge usually lies at the heart of the matter, and the cruel, heartless villains get their just comeuppance by fade-out.  Back in 2004, Besson wrote a gripping little actioneer about French ghettos entitled “District B13.”  Essentially, “District B13” combined elements of the futuristic Kurt Russell sci-fi saga “Escape from New York” with “48 HRS.”  A convict who had murdered a corrupt cop in a fit of rage teams up with an indestructible undercover detective to infiltrate a crime ridden neighborhood.  They must retrieve a deadly bomb that has fallen into the hands of desperate drug-dealing criminals who live like warlords.  The possibilities for conflict are predictably rampant.  “District B13” served not only as the film title, but it also is the setting for all the anarchy.  Since law & order never prevailed in the District, Parisian authorities have sealed it off with impressive containment walls that enclose it like a fortress.  They are also evacuating their police forces to leave those lawless citizens to their own designs.  

Meanwhile, “District B13” gave audiences their first glimpse of stunt man David Belle.  Officially, Belle originated Parkour.  Parkour is a form of hand-to-hand combat where the combatant exploits his surroundings for maximum advantage.  Meaning, our hero searches first to find ways out of a predicament and then fights only when individuals block his escape route.  Belle qualifies as a competent enough actor, but his gift for adapting himself to his surroundings so he can elude the villains is extraordinary.  Belle performs his outlandish feats with the grace and agility of a youthful Jackie Chan.  The character that he portrays is not a professional lawman, criminal, or mercenary.  He is just a law-biding citizen seeking justice for others.  Later, in 2009, Belle reprised his role in the dynamic sequel “District 13: Ultimatum.”  He makes his English-language film debut in editor-turned-director Camille Delamarre’s “Brick Mansions” (** OUT OF ****), with the late Paul Walker as his co-star.  Since Belle speaks with a heavy French accent, Vin Diesel dubbed him for American audiences.  You’ll have to strain your ears to detect traces of that signature growl that has made Diesel famous.  Unfortunately, this lukewarm action thriller is neither half as good as either of the “District B13” nail-biters.  Belle upstages Walker in all their combat sequences, and the two actors display little camaraderie.  Perhaps the language barrier prevented them from bonding.  Presumably, “Brick Mansions” constituted little more than a paycheck movie for Walker between his “Fast and Furious” epics.  What is worst is that Besson has rewritten crucial parts of his original “District B13” screenplay for this flawed remake.  Essentially, it boils down to a case of fixing something that didn’t require fixing.  Indeed, Besson has taken the edge off the action in many instances and packed in the clichés that he didn’t stick in either of the “District” movies.

Basically, freshman director Camille Delamarre and Besson have transplanted the action to Detroit in the year 2018 and their dystopian storyline isn’t a far cry from the urban renewal machinations in the “RoboCop” franchise.  The “RoboCop” thrillers occur in Detroit, too.  Skyrocketing crime plagues the Motor City, and the Mayor (Bruce Ramsay of “Collateral Damage’) has constructed an impregnable wall around the troubled sector where the police wage a holding action until they can extract themselves.  In a sense, “Brick Mansions” resembles “The Purge.”  You can do anything you want within this labyrinth of housing projects designated Brick Mansions.  Sure, the storyline shares similarities with the latest incarnation of “Dredd,” except skyscrapers run by warlords don’t loom in this woebegone ghetto.  African-Americans traffic in drugs like heroin and cocaine, and Tremaine Alexander (Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, a.k.a. RZA of “American Gangster”) is the alpha male of Brick Mansions.  The first time we see our hero, Lino (David Belle of “Femme Fatale”); he is destroying a fortune in heroin.  Alexander’s gun-toting henchmen swarm into Lino’s apartment complex, but he manages to escape them because he knows every nook and cranny in the place.  Later, Alexander’s second-in-command K-2 (Grouchy Boy) comes up with a plan to lure Lino out.  They take his ex-girlfriend, Lola (Catalina Denis), as a hostage.  Miraculously, Lino breaks into Alexander’s stronghold and rescues Lola.  He and she hold Alexander at gunpoint so his ruffians won’t kill them.  At the police station, a corrupt cop turns Alexander loose and jails Lino.  In “District B13,” the hostage was our hero’s sister.  The sister made better sense in the first film than the ex-girlfriend.

While this is going down in Brick Mansions, undercover cop Damien Collier (Paul Walker) has an agenda of his own.  His father, who was a decorated cop, died under suspicious circumstances when he plunged into the Brick Mansions.  Since then Collier has put Alexander on his short list of suspects who need to pay.  The Mayor has been planning to renovate the Brick Mansions when the gangsters steal a deadly bomb.  Collier accepts the assignment to retrieve the bomb.  He wants more time to acquire intelligence about the Brick Mansions.  The Mayor refuses to give him more time.  Instead, he pairs him up with Lino.  Naturally, the two men don’t trust each other.  Worse, the criminals have tampered with the bomb and activated its countdown.  Our heroes have less than 24 hours to disarm it.  “Brick Mansions” packs enough surprises to make it palatable, but this is pales by comparison with Walker’s “Fast and Furious” franchise, and the shoot’em ups and close-quarters combat are considerably less gritty.  “District B13” carried an R-rating, while “Brick Mansions” earned an PG-13 rating.  Only hardcore Paul Walker fans will appreciate his second-to-last movie.

                                  

A FILM REVIEW OF "A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD" (2013)

Before I saw “A Good Day to Die Hard,” I remembered “Die Hard 2: Die Harder” as my least favorite film in the Bruce Willis franchise. Now, “Max Payne” director John Moore’s “A Good Day to Die Hard” (** OUT OF ****) has acquired that dubious distinction.  This fast-paced, but formulaic, 98-minute actioneer should have gone the straight to video route.  Nobody would have missed it.  I’ve seen better Bruce Willis epics go the straight to video route.  Although it boasts some sensational, larger-than-life stunts, the fourth “Die Hard” sequel qualifies as a Spartan saga with little to distinguish from its straight t0 video competition.  The film generates little charisma and lacks a strong villain like previous “Die Hards.”  Indeed, it appears that Twentieth Century Fox has inserted the Bruce Willis/John McClane hero into a raw-edged, generic thriller about a tense father and son relationship.  Unlike the first two “Die Hard” movies, the action doesn’t occur at Christmas, and McClane isn’t confined to one setting as he was in the first two “Die Hards.”  “A Good Day to Die Hard” is more like “Die Hard with a Vengeance” and “Live Free or Die Hard” since the hero remains at large.

“A Good Day to Die Hard” takes place almost entirely in Moscow.  The Russian villains are former political allies who are prepared to kill each other.  Chaganin (Sergey Kolesnikov of “Cold Souls”) is a clean-shaven, natty, high-ranking politician with influence galore.  The other is a wealthy bearded dissident, Komarov (Sebastian Koch of “Unknown”), who bides his time in jail playing chess.  Ultimately, one of these villains wants what the villains in “The Expendables 2” wanted: weapons grade uranium.  As Detective Lieutenant John McClane, Bruce Willis returns in fine form to thwart the evil villains.  Sadly, scenarist Skip Woods doesn’t give Willis any clever wisecracks.  Consequently, for lack of anything better to utter, Bruce says, “I’m on vacation,” at intervals.  Ironically, he isn't on vacation.  He does utter his personal motto once when he pulls his biggest stunt to save his son’s life.  He performs feats of derring-do to assist his estranged son.  Basically, Bruce is the whole show.  The only other actor you may recognize is Cole Hauser.  Cast as the expendable CIA partner, Hauser gets caught in the cross-fire.  The remainder of the cast is largely unknown.  Jai Courtney resembles Sam Worthington of “Avatar” fame, but he radiates little of Worthington’s charm.

Our indestructible hero, Detective John McClane, is shooting targets on the NYPD firing range when he learns that his son Junior (Jai Courtney of “Jack Reacher”) has been imprisoned in Russia.  What the elder McClane doesn’t learn until later is John McClane, Jr., works as a spook for the Central Intelligence Agency.  Naturally, McClane flies off for Moscow after an obligatory moment with his daughter, Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead of “Live Free or Die Hard”), with whom he remains on good terms.  The last time we saw Lucy, she was struggling with the villains in “Live Free or Die Hard.” Aside from Winstead reprising her role, there is little here to associate with the franchise.  When our heroes get a quiet moment to reminisce, they mumble forgettable dialogue. They are better off blasting away at the opposition or dodging both bullets and explosions.  McClane still has a thing or two that he can teach his son, but their relationship doesn’t advance very far.  They lack camaraderie, and Junior is one of those sons who could die and not be missed.

Everybody is after the elusive Komarov who claims to have an incriminating file on the wicked Chaganin.  You see, Chaganin is campaigning for the position of Defense Minister.  Komarov had a deal with the CIA, specifically Agent John McClane, Jr., before everything went chaotic.  Chaganin will do anything to dispose of Komarov, and he dispatches a gang of gunsels led by Alik (Rasha Bukvic of “Taken”) who hates Americans.  The younger McClane shoots his way into prison and then during a raid on the courthouse, Komarov and he get together.  John confronts them, and Junior puts a pistol in his face.  No, he isn’t happy to see his father.  Meantime, Alik and company are breathing down Junior’s neck.  A demolition-derby automotive chase ensues with some spectacularly orchestrated car crashes.  Junior and Komarov are desperately struggling to elude Alik, while John tags along close behind trying to run interference when he has the chance.  As it turns out, Komarov hasn’t been entirely honest with Junior about the mysterious file he has on Chaganin.  Eventually, we learn that Komarov has a daughter with her own pistol and an attitude.  The Komarovs betray our heroes and grab a helicopter.  They are bound for the sinister ruins of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant when Komarov has stashed the file.

Sadly, the villains in “A Good Day to Die Hard” aren’t memorable.  Nobody here is both as deadly and debonair as Alan Rickman was in the original “Die Hard” or Jeremy Irons in “Die Hard with a Vengeance.”  After father and son reconcile themselves somewhat, the best they can do is dodge more bullets and hope for the best.  At one point, after surviving several close scrapes, McClane scrambles aboard the villains helicopter and commandeers a vehicle stashed inside the chopper.  The villains are about to riddle yet another office building with machine gun fire where Junior is hiding.  Our stalwart hero cranks up the vehicle inside and drives it out of the cargo bay.  This action tilts the helicopter backwards at a precipitous angle so its machine guns miss their intended target.  This destruction of the helicopter qualifies as the best of the fireball explosions in “A Good Day to Die Hard.”

“Swordfish” scenarist Skip Woods doesn’t give us a lot to get attached to in this installment.  The surprises aren’t very surprising, and the filmmakers struggle to do anything that hasn’t been done before, like blowing up the above-mentioned helicopter.  No matter when you see it, “A Good Day to Die Hard” has nothing good about it.