The perfect example of escapist entertainment, "Brick Mansions" doesn't aspire to be anything more than a fun way to kill some time. Its story is simple, yet serviceable, an excuse for several well crafted action sequences ranging from parkour chases, to car chases, to gun fights.
The plot is almost elegant in its simplicity, as it follows a cop who is forced to team up with a criminal to disarm a bomb in a walled off, crime-ridden section of Detroit (the title location). It sounds like a poor man's version of "Escape From New York", and maybe it is to a degree, but it also manages to deliver where it counts. The film establishes the backstories and motivations of its characters, but doesn't spend any more time doing so than necessary. While other films might overemphasize certain aspects of their characters for the sake of drama, "Brick Mansions" is content to give the audience just enough storytelling to justify the action. They nailed the ratio perfectly.
The film does have one twist in the plot near the end that was a clever, pleasant surprise, even if it wasn't groundbreaking. I appreciated it, particularly since I had been starting to feel that, if the film ended the way it seemed to be going, it wouldn't be fully satisfying. The twist was the perfect capper to what was already a fun movie. This should end up being the kind of film that will make for a great way to spend a quiet Saturday afternoon when it ends up on cable.
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