09/13/06 District B13

District B13 (2004), directed by Pierre Morel

watched solo; DVD rental (Netflix) @ home

Following in a long line of gold-mining that comes with the stylized action-thrillers that are Luc Besson films (directed, produced or otherwise tagged by him)...we come with new director, old hat cinematographer Morel and this brilliant chaotic mess. What we have is a futuristic dystopia, where all of Paris, France has become a series of hardened ghettos...the worst of which is District B13. Walled off by its surroundings with huge concrete barricades, and ruled lawlessly by the ruthless crime lord Taha...the district is not a pretty place to be. When a young local punk named Leito; who just so happens to be the most incredibly athletic, agile and insance bastard in the world; wants to take down the boss, he's in for a rude awakening. Taha has his clutches in the local "law enforcement," which help him to put Leito behind bars, while he takes his beautiful sister Lola to become his drugged-out slave-like pet. Leito bides his time inside, until he can break free to rescue his sister, and have revenge on Taha. One slight problem with his loner plan...a neutron bomb has been stolen by thugs and brought into the possession of Taha. When the authorities catch wind of this, they employ one of their own...an equally athletic, agile and utterly insane bastard Damien to bust Leito out (for local street smarts) and defuse the wicked bomb. With his coy routine wearing thin with hardened Leito, cop Damien must soon join forces with rebel in order to both get what they want accomplished. Fighting to save Lola, and save the district from sure destruction with the atomic warfare...the two bad-asses form a tight bond (basically by taking turns kick each other's and many others' asses. When push comes to shove, will they kill each other before they can finish the mission?! What is the true meaning of this potential terrorist plot, and what forces had brought society to the blackened state that it is in? One thing is for sure, through all the choreographed fight scenes and extreme explosions...the French (namely Besson and his proteges) can do some serious damage to the action-thriller genre, can't they?! Think of a fast-paced race against time, a la "Run Lola Run" kicked in the head by one of Jason Statham's stoic "Transporter" suit & tie drubbings. Who knew those French could be so dark and brooding?

4 out of 5 stars