2006
Who needs bleeding-edge special effects when I keep seeing films that blow my mind without the aid of a single computer, wire rig or stunt person? Relying on the dexterous, building-bounding art of parkour, this French import moves with blinding speed and narrative economy to deliver a feather-light action flick that nevertheless hits harder than most stateside genre efforts of recent memory.
Leito (parkour founder David Belle) resides within the dismal walls of District B13 in 2010 Paris. When Leito's sister is kidnapped by mob boss Taha (Bibi Naceri) and he's locked up, Leito must rely on undercover cop Damien (Cyril Raffaelli) to defuse a potentially lethal situation.
Whipping by at 85 minutes, "District B13" doesn't give you much room to breathe, let alone contemplate the absurdity of its story, as co-written by Luc Besson, the king of bad-ass flicks signifying little to nothing. The bonus materials included here are slight, but it won't matter, as you'll probably be rewinding the pulse-pounding stunt sequences to figure out just how the hell everyone made it out alive. Highly recommended "?Preston Jones
