Review of District 13: Ultimatum (2009) by Ehome T — 14 Feb 2010

Think Fifth Element.

Minus weird aliens. Minus Milla Jovovich (boo).

Instead, you get a bald dude with nice ass (yes, you heard me), and a dude with facial hair.

Think Transporter 1 (specifically), updated for 2010, with a bigger budget, and refined choreography.

Minus Jason Statham.

You still get the 10000 thug VS one super-dude, but you lose the oil slicks and the jacket. You do get a lot of taser-ing action.

Action is generally understated Euro-nesque, it has that Hollywood-esque polish without the typical Hollywood presumption that the audience is IQ deficient. Pacing is a bit bland but it moves along relatively well.

The setting is dystopian yet not too depressingly so -- it's quite plausible, given the politics of our time: it's Equilibrium without the in-your-face big-brother authoritarianism feel.

It's a must see for Luc Besson fans, if you liked his films then this won't disappoint.