Features
- Type: DVD
- Studio: Alliance Films
- Language(s): english, french
- Subtitle(s): english
- Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: english
- Actor(s): Cyril Raffaelli, David Belle
District B13In this action-packed film set in the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb. District 13: UltimatumWith bone crunching fights and death defying leaps, this adrenaline charged follow-up takes the groundbreaking parkour action from DISTRICT B13 to thrilling new heights. (Fangoria) Two years have passed since elite police officer Damien Tomasso (Cyril Raffaelli) teamed up with reformed vigilante Leito (David Belle) to save the notorious District 13, a racially charged ghetto populated by violent drug dealing gangs and vicious killers. Despite government promises to maintain order, the state of the district has deteriorated. A group of corrupt cops and elected officials conspire to cash in on the redevelopment of the district by proposing its destruction under nuclear air strike. Damian and Leito must join forces again, using their martial arts and unique physical skills, to bring peace to the neighborhood by any means necessary.District B13For eye-popping kinetic thrills, District B13 tops the class. In the near future, the worst ghettos of Paris have been walled in and left to rot. When a neutron bomb gets stolen by a criminal kingpin in seedy District B13, Damien--a cop who specializes in deep cover assignments (Cyril Raffaelli, a stuntman turned actor)--has to team up with Leito (David Belle), who grew up in the district and has his own reason for going back: the kingpin kidnapped his sister (tough yet adorable gamine Dany Verissimo). The plot takes a few preposterous turns, but it's beside the point--every turn serves only to maintain the relentless flow of sheer physical prowess. Belle is one of the inventors of a sport called parkour, which treats a city's architecture like an obstacle course; while running from gun-toting thugs, Leito leaps, bounds, and scrambles up and down buildings with astonishing grace. The fight sequences are just as down-to-earth yet over-the-top as Damien whirls, kicks, and crunches through armies of bad guys. Just as important is the tongue-in-cheek tone that never turns smirky; the movie doesn't take itself seriously, but doesn't mock itself or its basic cinematic pleasures. Anyone looking for a break from the overbearing CGI and self-important pomp of Hollywood action movies should watch District B13. --Bret FetzerDistrict 13: UltimatumGet ready to chase across rooftops, shatter plate-glass windows, and vanquish the enemy with a priceless van Gogh canvas (explanation forthcoming): the agile battlers from District B13 (a.k.a. Banlieue 13) are back. As played by David Belle (one of the inventors of the building-hopping practice called parkour) and Cyril Raffaelli, the two expert head-knockers from the first film return to fight yet another serious threat against the walled-off neighborhood in a slightly futuristic Paris. This time some corrupt government officials have a devious plot to raze the slum and funnel the rebuilding contracts to their payoff-happy corporate pals at Harriburton (a name that bears absolutely no resemblance to any real-life corporate behemoth). Wisely delaying the reunion of our heroes, the movie opens with Raffaelli's epic throw-down against a gang of desperadoes, which he executes while wielding the van Gogh painting as a shield/weapon. Nice. Then Belle gets onstage for a typically graceful parkour workout across various buildings. This action, especially in its overblown, belief-defying later stages, has more than its share of fromage, but isn't that what we expect from writer-producer Luc Besson? Ultimatum isn't as sleek and effective as the first movie, but it has enough deft action and buddy-picture one-liners to justify its existence--and Belle and Raffaelli bristle with real movie-star appeal, especially when doing their Butch-and-Sundance routine. The ending suggests another sequel will need to have a very different setting, but that migh
