An undercover cop uses the help of an acrobatic cop killer to break into the most dangerous section of town and stop a drug-dealing criminal with a bomb. Damien Collier has devoted his life to one thing: avenging his father's death. His father was the last policeman to try to bring justice to Brick Mansions, a district of Detroit that serves as the home to all of the city's most dangerous criminals and drug dealers. He was killed by the head of the criminal underworld, Tremaine Alexander. Since then, Damien has been going undercover, infiltrating the lower-level gangs, and taking out Tremaine's allies one at a time until he gets a shot at the man himself. After he gets the attention of the mayor while taking out a big-time drug cook named George the Greek, he is given an assignment: Tremaine's men hijacked an armored car holding a neutron bomb, which they accidentally activated. They have ten hours until the bomb goes off, taking out all of Brick Mansions, unless Damien can break in, get the bomb from Tremaine, and enter the proper code. To help him get in, he must team up with Lino Dupree, an acrobatic ex-pat living in Brick Mansions trying to halt as many criminal activities as he can. After stealing and destroying kilos of cocaine from Tremaine, Tremaine kidnaps Lino's ex-girlfriend Lola until Lino can either get him the drugs back or pay him for the drugs. Despite Lino's lack of trust for Damien, he helps him get to Tremaine. However, Tremaine has a surprise for them: he has attached the bomb to a rocket, pointing it at downtown Detroit unless he gets 30 million dollars. Damien pretends the city agrees to those conditions to buy him some time until he and Lino can escape. They do and destroy the rocket, but as the bomb ticks down, Tremaine agrees to let Damien enter the code to disarm the bomb. When the code turns out to be the zip code of Brick Mansions, Lino and Tremaine realize the mayor sent them the bomb in hopes of destroying Brick Mansions and everyone in it. After fighting Damien and convincing him (including a confession from Tremaine that he was framed for the death of Damien's father), Damien joins the Brick Mansions residents in storming City Hall and getting a videotaped confession from the Mayor that he was attempting to murder countless innocents. The film ends with the Mayor leaving office in disgrace, Lino and Lola getting back together, and Damien finally at peace in his hunt for revenge for the death of his father.
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Best part of story, including ending:
This is a fun and ludicrous action movie, with plenty of hand-to-hand combat and kinetic action sequences. It also has a likable leading performance from the late Paul Walker.
Best scene in story:
Damien and Lino at one point must fight Tremaine's giant henchman, which takes incredible effort from our heroes, including lots of leaping, cinder blocks, and a giant chain.
Opinion about the main character:
Damien is played by Paul Walker, your prototype for the handsome blue-eyed earnest hero. Walker is great in the role, and his recent death makes his presence on screen all the more magnetic, as we ponder the loss of a gifted actor gone too soon.
