Review of District 13: Ultimatum (2009) by Jason D — 15 May 2010

With the surprise sleeper success of the first District B13 (not just in France, but also in America as well), it was no surprise that a sequel was on the horizon. A couple of years have passed since the events of the first film and it appears as though much hasn't changed.

District B13 is still a outcasted by society. The one thing that has seemed to change is the large number of corrupt politicians/government officials/police that have grown in numbers, all plotting to financially gain from District B13's demise.

A conspiracy causes the unlawful arrest of returning Cyril Raffaelli, and the murder of several other people in order to link gang bangers of B13 to cop-killing. Returning David Belle has proof to take down an entire corrupt organization, but needs the help of Cyril, not to mention the entire gangland of B13.

The action is top notch and the choreography is top notch, however this sequel manages to falter a little bit and become inferior to the original. While this sequel runs considerably longer and packs a more intricate story, it cannot help but to be marred by a couple of really big problems, which includes a bit of mediocre direction on new-to-the-franchise director Patrick Alessandrin.

Some of these problems pertain to a lot of excruciating and embarrassingly bad moments of acting and unintentionally hilarious comedy. The opening bit with Raffaelli's new undercover mission was very painfully to watch, given it's unrealistic and corny approach.

There are plenty of other bad moments like that. Still, despite those flaws, this film was still a lot of fun. That same extreme jumping sport, Parkour, is prevalent throughout the film and always engaging to watch.

Definitely not as good as the original, but still an entertaining ride.