Banlieue 13: Ultimatum

The incredibly acrobatic pairing of Parkour pioneer, David Belle and martial arts maestro Cyril Raffaelli team up once again for this sequel to the simply breathtaking District 13. It seems that the happy ending of the original film didn't come to fruition and the run down district of the films title is as crime ridden and grotty as ever. Once again, a shady government faction has designs to blow up the place (there's a bit more to it than that actually but that's basically it in a nutshell!) and it's up to our boys to re-team in an effort to put a stop to their nefarious plans.

Well, it has to be said that I concur with the general tide of opinion as regards this one; It's certainly a great watch in its own right yet pales against its predecessor not least of all due to the incredible Parkour displays which so elevated the original being extremely toned down here.......Why?!?! Nonetheless, as if to balance this, Raffaelli at least gets to show off far more of his incredible fighting skills in some truly amazing sequences, the like which are so seldom seen outside of Hong Kong cinema. It would have been really nice to see a few more appearances from members of the original cast (the hulking K2 and Leito's incredibly sexy sister would have been most welcome!) but it was not to be sadly. Still, as said previously the film stands well in its own right.....just try to overlook the somewhat sappy ending though.

Three years after the events of the previous 'District 13' film things have not improved in the District despite promises made at the time. Now a corrupt minister is planning to expel the inhabitants and demolish the buildings so profitable redevelopment can take place. To this end his has a shadowy agency raise tensions and turn public opinions against the inhabitants of the district. They have honest cop Captain Damien Tomaso arrested on a trumped-up charge and murder two other officers before making it look as if they were killed in the District. Unbeknownst to them the killing was filmed; when they realise this the go after the witness but he has passed the recording to Leito. Damien manages to call Leito but before he can do anything he must get away from the security forces. Once reunited Damien and Leito set about exposing the truth and saving the community; to do this they will have to unite the various groups living in the district.

It must be said the story isn't that deep and the villains couldn't be more obviously bad... that doesn't matter though. The story is just an excuse to give great scenes of parkour and martial arts action... and it really delivers these well. David Belle is amazing in the parkour scenes and Cyril Raffaelli is great in his martial arts scenes; these combine to give the film a feel similar to Hong Kong action films without it feeling as though the makers were copying that formula. The main cast is solid in the 'acting' as well as action scenes. The ending is a little disappointing; especially when we only hear distant explosions rather than seeing them... at least they weren't rendered in poor CGI. Overall this might not be a great film but it is a lot of fun and definitely delivers if you want action and a degree of humour.

These comments are based on watching the film in French with English subtitles.

I was a bit disappointed with B13 Ultimatum, and I'm judging it against the first installment of B 13. I expected it to be on par if not better than the original but I found it slower, flatter and far less dynamic. Somewhat similar to Matrix and Matrix Reloaded, the 1st being fresh and dynamic and the 2nd being more polished and elaborate, though I thought the latter was still very good. B13 Ultimatum is plagued by some bad scripting and cartoonish and ridiculous characters - like the face-tattooed Tao - and lost credibility as the film progresses, becoming a mediocre Hollywood action flick. One detail that I found amusing and ridiculous was the amount of gun-less cops that were mowed over by the two protagonists, yet when they did use guns, the shower of bullets seemed useless against the seemingly bullet-proof little Citroen or Renault get-away car.. Hollywood, eat your heart out.

After a successful mission against drug lords, the efficient Captain Damien Tomaso (Cyril Raffaelli) is framed at home with three kilograms of heroine planted by the police in his kitchen and he is arrested. Meanwhile a group of teenagers film the action of dirty agents leaded by Roland (Pierre-Marie Mosconi) from the security agency executing policemen in their car and then leaving the car with the corpses in the 13th District to blame the gangs and begin a civil war. Behind these events, the corrupt chief of the security agency Walter Gassman (Daniel Duval) had received a huge amount as kickback from the constructor Harriburton that has interest to construct buildings in the poor area and uses the situation to force the President of France (Philippe Torreton) to authorize to nuke five towers in the district. The teenager with the film is hunted by the police but he delivers the memory card to Leito (David Belle); meanwhile Damien calls him from the precinct asking for help. The friends team-up with five dangerous bosses to gather evidences to prove to the president that Gassman has provoked the conflict in their district.

"Banlieue 13 – Ultimatum" is a great sequel of the awesome 2004 "Banlieue 13". The story has non-stop action scenes very well choreographed and an excellent screenplay; the performances of Cyril Raffaelli and David Belle with the Parkour are again very impressive. Unfortunately I found the conclusion disappointing and pointless and it seems to contradict the objective of the dwellers of the 13th District that meet the president to avoid him from blowing up their homes. How could they be so naive to believe in the word of a politician that was under pressure? Therefore in the end the winner is Harriburton! My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "B13 U – 13o Distrito – Ultimato" ("B13 U – 13th District – Ultimatum")

Jackie Chan has grown old, as has the Kung Fu craze, it is time for the French to show their talents in Parkeur and martial arts. The story itself doesn't make much sense, but the moves are simply great.

I have seen Banlieue 13 a long time ago and liked it for the action movie that it was, and this sequel was at least as packed with acrobatics, however I think it missed some of the feel of the first.

Bottom line: Hard to say anything more about the movie. Just watch it if you like action.

If this film doesn't make you want to go to the gym for at least 5 minutes, then I don't know what will :)