District B13 (2006) [Blu-ray]
Action | Crime | Sci-Fi

Paris, 2010. An isolation wall surrounds the ghetto cities of District B13. Within these walls, without effective law enforcement, gang rule is absolute.

Damien is a member of an elite police squadron, highly trained in martial arts. He goes undercover to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb and save District B13 from annihilation. Damien recruits the help of a criminal named Leito - whose only goal is to save his sister from the clutches of the same gang.

User Comment: DICK STEEL from Singapore, 23 March 2006 • It's erroneous to interpret "A Film By Luc Besson" that the marketing folks slap on the movie posters these days. Besson has of late been lending his name for that purpose on many movies, but nope, he's not the director. Usually involved in another capacity, like writer, or producer.

District 13 is one such movie. This is not a film by Luc Besson, although it is written by, and produced by him. This movie is directed by Pierre Morel, who was the cinematographer for another Besson-involved film, Jet Li's Unleashed. You'll see some familiar stylistic elements from Unleashed in this movie, although this one was made in 2004, and shown here earlier as the movie used to launch Cathay's new halls 10-12 at cineleisure.

Set in Paris 2010, troubled districts get walled in by the authorities. Literally. And District 13 is one of the most notorious amongst all. We get introduced to Leito first, a resident of District 13, but as it turns out, despite his mean tattoo covered demeanor, he has a heart of gold, and fantastic springs for legs, borrowed from the Yamakasi folks. Played by David Belle, he actually is a co-founder of a sport known as Parkour, which is demonstrated in the movie as a very free form of martial arts cross bred with the Yamakasi spirit. Leito is a character who's jaded by authority-like figures, as he gets betrayed by the police, and has his sister given up as collateral.

The other protagonist is Damien, an ace undercover cop, played by stuntman Cyril Raffaelli. Accomplishing his latest mission doesn't buy him rest, as he gets thrust unwillingly into a new assignment of having to locate a neutron bomb stolen and brought into District 13. Given only 24 hours before the bomb explodes and kills everyone in an eight kilometer radius, he has to enlist the help of Leito to serve as a guide inside the notorious district.

As you would already expect, it's reluctant hero meeting another reluctant hero, both with huge egos and their own agendas - one to save lives, the other to save his sister. Both share a common enemy, so that makes it easier somewhat to find common ground to cooperate. However, the movie's a tad short to explore these buddy themes, as you get into the action thick and fast.

It's adrenalin pumping action against an edgy hard hitting soundtrack. You'll initially be wowed at Leito's Parkour scenes, which brings back some memories of Jackie Chan movies with his acrobatic maneuvers into confined spaces, and of leaping from building to building, window ledge to window ledge, and rooftop to rooftop. However, after a while, you tend to get jaded because it's basically the same thing, repeated over and over again. The initial novelty wore out, and it didn't help that action scenes thereafter relied on the same techniques.

Also, despite being billed as a non-stop action flick, the action actually pauses for long moments to force a discussion on the ridding of the downtrodden, of taking extreme measures to round up troubled districts by physically segregating them from the rest using high walls and barbed wires. and of extreme methods of getting rid of such folks deemed as troublemakers.

There're also more style-than-substance scenes, not that I'm complaining, but some shots were pretty to look at, at the expense of the story. As with most action movies, you'll also have to suspend belief that while bullets can make nasty holes in metal, they will never find a way to penetrate wood or human flesh, at least when the heroes are concerned.

While the ending's pretty neat, you can't help but wonder that this movie is yet another victim of the cool trailer syndrome - having almost all the best bits of the movie condensed into the trailer, leaving nothing much in the movie itself.

Summary: A Nutshell Review: District 13 (Banlieue 13)

User Comment: Matt from United States, 14 June 2005 • People people people...anyone expecting Citizen Kane out of this movie needs to have their head examined. BUT...if you were looking for a thrilling, fast paced roller-coaster, that's what you will find.

For the past year, I have been seeking out alternatives to American cinema because it has become so formulaic and awful. I troll IMDb and eBay to see what else is happening in the world. Sure, B13 is derivative, but it is certainly more exciting than another "re-imagining" of a 70s cop show.

The opening sequence took my breath away. I was half-way through the film before I felt it was sage to dart to the kitchen for a drink. I said to my wife "THIS is the movie I've been searching for." Even the subtitles were good. The verbiage and spelling were very authentic and slang-conversational. It did not feel forced as many foreign films do. It was definitely subbed with the British market in mind, as some of the banter evoked thoughts of Lock, Stock or Layer Cake or Football Factory.

If I want a truly compelling story, I'll look elsewhere, but check out B13 for the some great fight scenes, excellent scenery and mind-blowing athleticism.

Summary: GREAT action movie.

[CSW] -3- And... Is human nature universal in the universe?

º º