Review of District 13: Ultimatum (2009) by Chinedu O — 28 Feb 2011

A movie like District 13: Ultimatum could only exist in a European Universe, where the gang warlords have access to high-grade weapons, but most of the uniformed police prefer to use Tazers and martial arts first before resorting to bullets.

Many of the scenes depicted in this movie would simply not exist if it were happening in the United States. Not only are most American cops unable to run fast (let alone pursue an acrobatic perp across rooftops), the confrontations would be a lot shorter and a lot less sexy.

See, American cops LOOOVE shooting people. Unarmed people. Preferably while the perp is lying down on the ground, helpless and handcuffed. The blacker, poorer and less armed, the better. That's just how American police roll.

Bearing that in mind, you have to suspend SOME disbelief while watching District 13. A pair of good friends â" and some allies â" all with major Parkour skillz team up (again) to uncover a police scandal/coverup in a deeply ghetto, slightly-Alternate-Future Paris of 2013.

This is a french movie with pretty uneven pacing and gaping plot holes, not to mention cops who couldn't hit the side of a barn with their guns. However, the dubbing is pretty good, albeit sometimes unintentionally funny, because you can see clearly that the voices don't always match the intensity of the scene.

And while the fight sequences are cheesy and blatantly contrived, the acrobatics are freakin' AMAZING. Doubly amazing seeing that these two actors did all their own stunts. Gotta give them major respect.

It takes a whole other level of physical stamina and strength to do what they do, on camera or off. Just lifting weights isn't enough... My fat aging a$$ got exhausted just WATCHING them!