The trailer for Brick Mansions was released last week and it’s taken me this long to figure out how to get all my thoughts about it on the page.

Brick Mansions is the American remake of the French film Banlieue 13, or to give it the English title District 13. Now Balieue 13 is not only my favourite foreign film but it is one of my favourite films ever and will probably always be in my top 10. So all those years ago when I first heard they were going to do a remake I was annoyed but at the same time I like to be hopeful, thinking that it’ll bring more people to the original. The biggest plus that the American version had for it when I first heard about it was that David Belle was going to reprise his role – I did read somewhere that Luc Besson would only allow there to be a remake if Belle was in the American version (but now can’t find that information).

(more…)