District 13 Reviews

Lots of slick action, zero story. Deserves B-movie status but unfortunately too much money was spent on it, so it looks too good for a B-movie. The writer and director should be commended for keeping it short so it's over before it gets on your nerves. The short duration also fits into the attention span of a male adolescent, the only category of movie goers who will actually enjoy this. The rest should stay away.

Nossa, esse filme é muito ruim ! Senti pena dos atores pelo tempo perdido, sério mesmo. Furos no roteiro, coisas que acontecem e não fazem o menor sentido, atores fraquíssimos e uma cena de perseguição com trilha sonora de enterro !

Eu realmente sinto muito.

"You should've chosen my sister. You're already dead."

District B13 is unadulterated action porn. It's a series of kinetic action sequences tied together by an incidental plot and a forgettable script. Directed by Pierre Morel and produced by French super-producer Luc Besson, this is an adrenaline-pumping blast from start to finish that's loaded with style, wit and jaw-dropping acts of physical prowess - and although it's light on plot, it never slows down to let viewers notice. For those unaware, Luc Besson has produced an array of satisfying action films, ranging from the Transporter series to Jet Li vehicles (Kiss of the Dragon and Unleashed, for instance). If you're familiar with the aforementioned movies, you should know precisely what to expect from District B13 (originally titled Banlieue 13). For genre fans seeking solid entertainment, Besson has served up another spry, sleek winner.

The future of Paris envisioned in District B13 sees the worst districts surrounded by isolation walls, effectively cutting off all inhabitants of these areas from the rest of society and keeping the crime rates under control. The denizens of these slums are forced to live without education, proper utilities and police protection. The main story takes place in the 13th district during 2010, and a stolen neutron bomb is in the possession of the district's most powerful drug lord: Taha (Naceri). An undercover police officer named Damien (Raffaelli) is tasked with the assignment of finding the stolen nuclear weapon which will detonate in 24 hours. To be his guide inside the most volatile section of Paris, Damien recruits a man named Leito (Belle) who has his own score to settle with Taha.

District B13 is merely a torrent of action sequences tightly packed into an 85-minute runtime. It doesn't take long for the film to kick into high gear, and once the action begins it only occasionally lets up for brief scenes of exposition. There's not a boring moment at any point during the film as it throttles forward at breakneck pace from one high-flying action scene to the next. Better yet, the death-defying stunts were done primarily without the aid of wires or CGI. And unlike their Hollywood counterparts, French filmmakers know how to shoot and edit these sequences. They don't rely on close-ups or shaky cam, nor are these scenes over-edited to the point of indecipherability.

For the film's opening sequence, David Belle employs his own philosophy of Parkour - i.e. the art of navigating urban spaces quickly and gracefully by overcoming physical obstacles in the quickest and most direct manner possible. The man races across rooftops, slides down railings and crashes through a miniscule window above a door - just to name a few of the eye-popping stunts - as he evades a group of gun-wielding enemies (and it was mainly done for real). But his co-star Cyril Raffaelli is not to be outdone - the former circus acrobat and martial arts champion has plenty of his own moments to shine. Raffaelli's stunts are all about the fighting as he punches and kicks; disarming enemies in the most efficient way possible. Belle and Raffaelli (both of whom had a hand in creating the stunts and action scenes) make an excellent duo. It's during the film's second half that these two stars team up to crack some skulls, and that's when District B13 truly kicks into overdrive.

But the slender screenplay (written by Besson with colleague Bibi Naceri, who also plays Taha) is plagued with contrivances barely acceptable for an action film like this (the reception for Damien's mobile phone when he needs to diffuse the bomb, for instance). The characters are pretty one-dimensional as well.

For those concerned with having to constantly read subtitles (the film is in French), have no fear - District B13 is far from dialogue-driven, and it's simple to follow. Do yourself a favour and check out this incredibly visceral action film in which the on-screen action is dripping with the blood and sweat of real stunt work. The plot can be forgiven as the action is energetic, the athleticism is astonishing and the soundtrack is pulsating. A terrific way to spend 85 minutes!

7.8/10

I've always been amazed by people that parkour and heard that this movie has a lot of it in it I wanted to see it. And the movie was filled with parkour and enough action to keep my interest and be a good action film.

The movie is set in 2010 in Paris where one district overrun by gangsters, drugs and violence that the government built giant wall around it and abandoned it, leaving its inhabitants to survive without formal education, proper utilities, or police protection. Leïto is one of the district residents that obeys the French formal laws and fights one gang lords, Taha, to keep him, his sister Lola and his building safe to live in. Leïto manages to captures Taha and brings him to the only police station in the district but Taha is release as the police was ordered to abandon completely and Leïto is arrested and put in prison outside of the district. Six months later outside of District 13, a police officer named Damien, is assigned to recruit Leïto to get into the district and help stop Taha from setting off a nuke that he captured from a armored truck. The rest of the movie has Leïto and Damien find and undercover the real purpose of the nuke.

The acting is par for a action movie so nothing special or bad.
Sound is pretty good both on the original French and dubbed English and also the FX are on par with other films like it and music is filled with the normal techno like music that fits well.
But the real point of interest is the parkour, which is always sight to see and this movie is filled with it from a couple parkour chase sequences and also adding parkour elements to the hand to hand fights.

Overall it's decent action film but with the parkour inclusion adds just enough to give it a extra point from me.