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District B13 review
:. Director: Pierre Morel
:. Starring: Cyril Raffaelli, David Belle
:. Running Time: 1:25
:. Year: 2006
:. Country: France
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After contributing a few works to French cinema — notably The Professional, La Femme Nikita, Subway & The Big Blue — director-turned über-producer-screenwriter Luc Besson decided it was time to provide France with American-style homegrown action films. Since then, he's usurped our screens with second-rate productions that he wrote and produced, giving the helm to some of his long-time collaborators. While the result occasionally worked — The Transporter, Kiss of the Dragon — most endeavors remain the kind of highly unpleasant experiences that usually fill the bottom shelves of your local Stinkbuster — Fanfan the Tulip, Wasabi, Ong-bak and the Taxi trilogy among others.
Directed by Pierre Morel, the cinematographer for The Transporter & Unleashed, District B13 is a transposition of Escape from New York to Paris's suburban projects, this time with an undercover cop trying to find and defuse a rocket pointed at the city of lights.
If you heard of the Parisian riots that happen in France a few months ago, this might give you a fictionalized look at what French ganglands look like, especially as co-screenwriter Bibi Naceri (also in the role crime boss Taha) is an ex-thug who grew up in these ghettos.
As for screenwriting, this remake of John Carpenter's film is of no interest. District B13 is mostly watchable for his real action sequences that showcase the yamakazi talents of Cyril Raffaelli — if you wonder what yamakazi is, it's an extreme sport where people jump from one building (roof, balcony, etc..) to another in French projects. Some of these scenes are spectacular and offer a touch of originality to this otherwise forgettable B-movie that aims at being a cross of Asian and American action cinema.
Fred Thom
 French Movies: Reviews 2012 - present
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