Review of District B13 (2004) by Ting-Hey C — 14 Jan 2011

District B13 is the first French film I've seen since watching Jean De Florette in High School English. The movie is subtitled which is fine for me, but will be annoying to some. This is the first movie I've seen where Parkour is featured as a major element. In fact it stars the creator of Parkour, David Belle, as the protagonist Leito. I've been a fan of Parkour videos since I first came across one online several years ago. Parkour (similar to Free Running) is what you get when you take Jacky Chan, teach him gymnastics, and add in a legbail (foot pursuit for my non-police readers). Google it some time, and prepare to be entertained. For those who are wondering, the movements in Free Running are about aesthetics, while Parkour is about efficiency. Anyway, I digress.

This movie has one of the best chase sequences of any movie I have ever seen. In fact, I can't think of one with a more entertaining chase scene. The fight sequences are quite entertaining and fun to watch as well. The Parkour and fight choreography are about all the movie has going for it though.

The acting is poor across the board. I don't think that the actors performances are being lost in translation, but that is a possibility. District B13 is a classic example of what happens when you cast actors based upon their physical abilities rather than on acting skills. Belle is in fantastic physical condition and the stunts are awesome, but his acting is sub par. Most of the other characters that show a proficiency in Parkour are relegated to non-speaking extra roles. The exception is the other main protagonist a super elite undercover Captain Damien with the Parisian police force, played by Cyril Raffaelli.

Damien is some sort of super cop. So super in fact that when an experimental nuclear bomb is stolen and set to go off in 24 hours, they send just him to go and get it. Yeah. Of course the nuke has been taken to the heart of a section of Paris, District 13, that is so crime plagued that it has been walled up like in Escape from New York. Belle's character is a resident of District 13. He is one of the many local bosses in the district where guns, drugs and thugs are plentiful. He is the white knight of the district though. Stealing heroin from other bosses and then flushing it, keeping his building clean, graffiti free and working properly, etc.

Naturally Damien and Leito end up working together to recover the bomb, and rescue Leito's sister from the clutches of the district's major crime lord. The entire film seems centered on showing off Parkour, which it does superbly. However the plot is weak, and fairly transparent. Every plot element seems designed to show how the good guys can win with a combination of speed, strength and gymnastic abilities.

All the negatives aside, I did enjoy watching the movie. It is very entertaining, but do not expect an Oscar worthy movie. I would recommend watching it just for the awesome chase scenes and a couple of the fight scenes. I give it a 6.5 / 10.