| 
Dual Audio: English & Francais 
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/district_b13/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414852/
District B13
Banlieue 13 (2004)
Directed by
Pierre Morel
Writing credits
Luc Besson
Bibi Naceri
Genre: Action / Comedy / Sci-Fi
Tagline: Welcome to District B13 Welcome to the future
Plot Outline: Set in the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb.
User Comments: A good action flick
Cast overview, first billed only:
Cyril Raffaelli .... Capt. Damien Tomaso
David Belle .... Leïto
Tony D'Amario .... K2
Bibi Naceri .... Taha Bemamud (as Larbi Naceri)
Dany Verissimo .... Lola
François Chattot .... Krüger
Nicolas Woirion .... Corsini
Patrick Olivier .... Le colonel
Samir Guesmi .... Jamel
Jérôme Gadner .... K2 boy 1
Tarik Boucekhine .... Yoyo (para 1)
Grégory Jean .... Para 2
Warren Zavatta .... Para 3
Dominique Dorol .... Cerbère Taha
Ludovic Berthillot .... Le gros mercenaire
For a film that's so light on its feet, "B13" seems rooted in what's really happening on the ground.
There was a moment early on in "District B13" where I was actually hoping that some of the daring stunt work I was seeing was being accomplished through digital effects. Because this is one thrillingly different action movie, and I want the principals to survive and make many more of them.
"B13" is built around the French extreme sport of "parkour," which is described as "skateboarding without the skateboard." Extremely athletic participants essentially turn the urban landscape into their own gymnasium, sliding down bannisters, bouncing off walls, and leaping from one apartment balcony to the next at breakneck speed.
It's just amazing to watch as actor/stuntman David Belle (who founded the sport) executes all these moves and a hundred more in one of the several jaw-dropping foot chase sequences in the movie. He's so powerful and yet so graceful, even elegant, in his movements that the most elaborate CGI stunt seems pale by comparison.
"District B13," directed by Pierre Morel, makes ample use of Belle's phenomenal abilities in a nifty film that's sort of a French counterpart to "Escape From New York," rather deftly using the conceits of an action movie to make some pointed social commentary about a divided society. In the future of "B13," Parisians have become so alarmed by the rising crime in the city's slums that the government has built a giant wall to contain them.
In District B13, the schools are closed, the police are pulling out, and the criminals are allowed to rule the streets. Frustrated, the heroic Leito (Belle) decides to take matters in his own hands, robbing the local drug dealers and destroying their wares. Crime kingpin Taha gets angry and decides to kidnap Leito's sister, and Leito gets thrown in jail by corrupt cops on Taha's payroll.
Cut to months later, and a cop named Damien (Cyril Raffaelli), who is quite the wall-climber in his own right, gets assigned to track down a "clean bomb" that has somehow fallen into Taha's hands. Naturally, nobody knows B13 like Leito, so he's temporarily sprung from prison to aid in the hunt.
So we've got the mismatched buddy plot, the ticking bomb plot, the kidnapped sister plot %u2013 is there an action movie that "B13" isn't pickpocketing? Maybe not, but the film is done with such style and speed that you don't mind at all. Surprisingly, given that Belle and Raffaelli are stuntmen-turned-actors, both have a real charisma and presence on-screen, even when they're not snapping necks or doing backflips.
The script, penned by Luc Besson ("La Femme Nikita," "The Professional") also makes time for some social points, as Damien and Leito argue over whether "liberte, egalite, fraternite" applies in a society where so many lower-class citizens are written off by their government. Damien even accuses Leito of "torching cars to make himself heard," in a film made a year before Muslim rioters were doing just that in France. For a film that's so light on its feet, "B13" seems rooted in what's really happening on the ground.
***************************************************
Right from the opening credit sequence, District B13 makes it loud and clear that you're going to like this movie. The camera glides and shoots around a futuristic ghetto, timing its movements to the techno soundtrack; you're latched onto to its energy the way Franka Potente drew you to her character in Run Lola Run, her arms and legs swinging to that film's heavy bass as she franticly ran through the streets of Berlin. In DB13, the first action sequence occurs just minutes into the film, and that initial energy quickly goes from infectious to electric. It becomes obvious that finally, after years of Transporter-like garbage and Milla Jovovich vehicles, Luc Besson is, no pun intended, back in action.
Written and produced by Besson, District B13 takes place in 2010, when the French government's response to rising poverty and crime is to wall off "undesirables" into ghettos and lock the gates, even if most of the people behind the walls aren't criminals. Ignoring the problem doesn't help, and things only get worse for the government when the crime lord of B13, Taha (Bibi Naceri), comes into possession of an experimental nuclear "clean" weapon that can kill every man, woman, and child in a eight-kilometer radius. The cops send in their best man, Damien (Cyril Raffaelli), and, as in all good buddy cop flicks, team him up with is opposite: Leito (David Belle), who is from inside B13 and has his own reasons to get back at Taha. Leito's former job was essentially keeping Taha's drugs off the streets, and in retaliation, Taha kidnapped Leito's feisty younger sister, hooked her on heroin, and turned her into his own personal pet.
District B13 doesn't need a complex plot—and it's interesting to note that the film's theme of sealing off the poor and leaving them to die was pretty timely when the film screened at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival, which took place just weeks after Hurricane Katrina hit. The movie is really all about getting the two leads into interesting settings and letting them show off their stuff. They're charismatic and remarkably talented in two different types of martial arts. Cyril Raffaelli has long been a favorite fight choreographer of Besson's and has done several secondary roles in action films, but Besson clearly wanted him in a leading role, and he makes the most of his opportunity. While Raddaelli is an unknown ready to break out, David Belle has developed a following in Europe for inventing a sport known as Parkour, where players gracefully move through urban obstacles (like buildings, stairs wells, and railings) as directly and quickly as possible. Belle is a master of the sport, and Besson wanted to showcase his ability. And the actor doesn't disappoint, capturing the body's movements in the most beautiful way possible.
Besson has always known what buttons to push when creating unforgettable action scenes. No one who has seen The Professional can forget its opening and closing sequences, but Besson has gone from building memorable scenes to building memorable stars. First it was Tony Jaa; now it's Raddaelli and Belle. The two are fantastic at their craft, and it's just far too much fun to see them feed off each other in this exciting film.
720x320 ( AR: 2.25 )
Codec: XviD
Audio 1: English
Audio 2: Francais
Subtitles: none
Format: AVI
Size: 700Mb
ripped by gkline
Please show appreciation and seed. 
Please remember this is a rating system on the quality of the torrent content, not how much you liked it or disliked it. |
