Release Date:
06/02/2006
Prepare to be French-fried. Despite being subtitled, this Parisian import is a supercharged action surprise, with one testosterone-loaded scene after another. From Luc Besson (writer-producer of The Transporter), District B13 is a lean, 85-minute romp that prominently features the new martial arts technique, parkour. Essentially, it's a bit like freerunning, or the art of forward movement, which producers claim involves no CGI camera trickery or wires. However they do it, it sure is fun to watch. In the year 2013, an elite cop (Cyril Raffaelli) has to recover and defuse a powerful bomb held by a gang operating in Paris' deadly District B13. To accomplish his mission, he has to team up with a B13 local (cofounder of parkour and action stunt man David Belle) who also wants to save his kidnapped sister. Sure, the plot isn't breaking any new ground, but the stunts do, with kick-ass action sequences that put those big-budget films toshame.