Review of District B13 (2004) by Jens S — 11 Jun 2009

A lot of bad things could be said about this French action movie. That it steals vital plot parts from Carpenter's "Escape from New York", that the characters are mere stereotypes saying stereotype things or that the techno soundtrack is more annoying than memorable.

The reasons all that doesn't matter all that much and this film works anyway are the impressing artistic fitness of the two main characters and the fun action scenes they deliver, while the whole flick doesn't take itself more serious than necessary.

Especially the first Parcours action scene is really impressive and fun, because you see that it worked without special effects, thanks to Parcours inventor and main character David Belle. Some of the dialoges are even good for a laugh or two and although the showdown doesn't quite live up to the promising set up, you won't regret having spent those 90 minutes watching, if you are a fan of the Jason-Statham-kinda-action.