District B13

In the not-too-distant future, crime in Paris has gotten out of control. Finally seeing no other solution, the government walls up the worst ghettos, keeping them completely separated with the outside world. Inside the walls lawlessness and gangs rule. And when they get their hands on a neutron bomb and threaten the rest of the city, the government is going to need to send in its top agent to get it back. But all is not as it seems here...

There are some action movies that aren't made so much to be coherent films, but just to showcase a specific talent or skill on the part of the actor (physical combat speaking). This is nothing new, what with the Kung-Fu grindhouse movies of decades past, or nothing bad. Indeed, it can make for some quick, fun, and generally kickass movies (see also: Ong-Bak. Seriously, go see it). That's exactly the case here, a movie that was made to show off some very impressive parkour.

Parkour (also called free running), for those of you who haven't been around, is basically the idea of getting from one place to another, on foot, in the quickest way possible. This usually includes lots of running up and over walls, out windows, and so on. It's done as seamlessly and fluidly as possible, with little to no stops and lots of quick improvisation. Needless to say, it looks very, very cool.

It's been in other movies, most notably the opening chase of Casino Royale and (in a slightly more cynical way) with some of the bad guys in Punisher: War Zone. But it's definitely at its best here, with stars Cyril Raffaelli and David Belle (one of the creators of the sport, if you want to call it that) displaying some immense athletic talent and pulling off some jaw-dropping, unaided stunts (no wires, CGI or stunt doubles here). There's some very slick and very cool chases and fights in this movie, all designed (and accomplished) in getting your adrenaline pumped and looked really goddamn cool.

The rest of the movie isn't much to write home about, as is to be expected. Plot's mostly a whitewash (I don't know anything about French politics (the movie's in French, by the way), so I don't know if these things are a big deal over there), just there to get some cheesy lines out and the fights scenes moving. I rather like the costumes and locations, I think they add to the overall kickass spirit of the film.

Overall, it's like I said above: a quick, easy, and downright fun movie to watch. Doesn't have much substance to fall back on besides the jumping and kicking, but hey, it doesn't try to act like more than it is either. It's a simple action movie, and in fact, all things considered, one of the best of the last decade. A definite must see for fans of all things punchy, kicky, shooty, and awesome...y.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19CrlgB0ueU