District B13
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: June 2, 2006
8.1
USER SCORE
Universal acclaim based on 115 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
96
Mixed:
11
Negative:
8
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User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
9
LDianeMar 3, 2013
This movie is amazing. Just wow. Enjoyed every second it's so fast paced, you won't be able to look away!! They need to make more movies like this.
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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10
FranKenweenieJun 23, 2014
Wow just perfect . i dont care if critics dont like it or it not being nominated i love action movies every second of this movie made me dont look away didnt get boring like THE goddamnFather movie every time i watched got asleep
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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9
TheQuietGamerSep 8, 2014
Much like Dredd or The Raid, two of the best action movies in recent memory, this movie succeeds part in because of it's awesome setting. Also like those movies it provides an interesting take on the action. In this movies case it'sMuch like Dredd or The Raid, two of the best action movies in recent memory, this movie succeeds part in because of it's awesome setting. Also like those movies it provides an interesting take on the action. In this movies case it's high-flying parkour. It doesn't have much in the way of traditional action movie shoot outs or fist-fights (there are a few), instead it's got insanely fun chase scenes that feature some crazy awesome stunts.

Even better is the fact that it's got a great plot and awesome leads in Cyril Raffaelli and David Belle, who just work great together. Don't let this movie's age trick you into thinking that all it's tricks have already been used in so many more recent action films. I'm actually shocked to say that it's content is still very unique, and even today feels like a fresh face in the action movie crowd. A must watch.… Expand
1 of 2 users found this helpful11
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7
MaseJun 13, 2006
Reminded me alot of the older 80's action flicks often caught on Showtime or Cinemax. A silly story and often times mindless but still alot of fun. There are good mindless movies and this is one of them. Go just for the incredible Reminded me alot of the older 80's action flicks often caught on Showtime or Cinemax. A silly story and often times mindless but still alot of fun. There are good mindless movies and this is one of them. Go just for the incredible action scenes, indulge a little. Also I'd like to add "great soundtrack" the pulsing techno music added alot to the action scenes.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
MarcD.Jun 3, 2006
This movie is a hell of a lot of fun. It's probably much better that it has subtitles because some of the words coming out of these guys' mouths would have been laughable had they been translated - extremely sincere, elevated This movie is a hell of a lot of fun. It's probably much better that it has subtitles because some of the words coming out of these guys' mouths would have been laughable had they been translated - extremely sincere, elevated coversations. But the martial arts were fantastic. As we were leaving the theater, a stoner told his buddy, "Man, that guy's got hops!" Exactly. They both have hops.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
H.KenneyJul 3, 2006
maybe the story sucks, but you cant help loving the action and just pure fun that this film oozes.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
TimO.Aug 7, 2006
Videogames, Movies, Critics, Directors, Actors and fans alike will look up to this film for years to come. An ideal action picture with a stunning plot and perfectly casted acting. Smart direction is the least you can say for this stunning Videogames, Movies, Critics, Directors, Actors and fans alike will look up to this film for years to come. An ideal action picture with a stunning plot and perfectly casted acting. Smart direction is the least you can say for this stunning epic adventure. It also gives you a brilliant outlook on the future without using a terrible script filled with celebrity cameos and gunshot wounds. The action is first class and non stop and the entire movie carries itself like no other action film has ever come close to. The action genre has just been defined by this unbelievable film.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
IceLeeSep 22, 2006
SUPER!
0 of 0 users found this helpful
8
PaulK.May 31, 2006
I enjoyed the fast paced action and especially the Parkour(the free movements, climbing on buildings, etc.) which was a blast to watch and gave Banlieue 13 a leading edge over the coreographed wire work that we've become accustomed to I enjoyed the fast paced action and especially the Parkour(the free movements, climbing on buildings, etc.) which was a blast to watch and gave Banlieue 13 a leading edge over the coreographed wire work that we've become accustomed to seeing ever since The Matrix(thanks Michelle C.). The plot was decent enough and coupling David Belle(Leito) and Cyril Raffaelli(Damien) was a smart move. I couldn't keep my eyes off of them. This is definitely worth seeing in the theater.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
8
MichelleC.Jun 1, 2006
This movie was fast paced, entertaining and fresh. The two lead characters aren't bad to look at either. Loved the music and acrabatics!
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
HBJun 4, 2006
Exhilerating film creating a new French style that I hope is the start of more like this to come.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
AwesomeDudeAug 7, 2006
Paris, 2010: The best plot ever. Amazing.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
SamBobAug 7, 2006
Amazing film of all proportions...Excellent Action with amazing acting
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
AdultSwimAug 7, 2006
Better than any action movie in the last 10 years. An American Classic.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
YousafK.Jan 16, 2007
Brilliant just brilliant. I couldn't sit in my sofa while watching this movie. I can't spend a day without watching it. It's a must watch for action freaks.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
[Anonymous]Jun 12, 2006
Action porn. Uninspired dialogue and story delivered by stuntmen instead of actors.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
8
DrewF.Jun 16, 2006
Saw this one at the Toronto Film Festival, a year ago. Just saw it again last night for a second time. Loved it then, loved it now. Very entertaining action film, combining parkour and martial arts into something that becomes it's own Saw this one at the Toronto Film Festival, a year ago. Just saw it again last night for a second time. Loved it then, loved it now. Very entertaining action film, combining parkour and martial arts into something that becomes it's own style. If you are an action movie fan, you WILL find some enjoyment here. I'd love to see David and Cyril team up again!… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
SteveB.Sep 17, 2006
Hot chick, dirty cops, cool gangs, fast cars, explosions, drugs, guns, great fight scenes and great soundtrack with driving techno beats. Crazy environment, "Escape From New York" on steroids. A movie for the guys!
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
SandraA.Sep 22, 2006
It's the best!!!
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
SamSep 24, 2006
Ultimate lads film. This is just what I
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
MikeN.Apr 23, 2007
Too much aciton- other Luc Besson films have a moral messge or internal conflict of the hero but not here.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
8
djalexAug 13, 2010
this film is entertaining and a surprise. it has its dumb elements but they don't interfere with your being engrossed in a nearly non stop chase. quirky and cute and fast and fun. One of the best action movies to come around in a longthis film is entertaining and a surprise. it has its dumb elements but they don't interfere with your being engrossed in a nearly non stop chase. quirky and cute and fast and fun. One of the best action movies to come around in a long time. don't expect to learn anything or become aware of some social issue but you believe it all enough and care about the characters enough to enjoy yourself.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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6
HalfwelshmanJan 12, 2012
Luc Besson has written a quite staggering quantity of high-octane action movies in recent years. Though he now rarely gets behind the camera himself, he's clearly not out of ideas by any means - in Hollywood, he's scribed all threeLuc Besson has written a quite staggering quantity of high-octane action movies in recent years. Though he now rarely gets behind the camera himself, he's clearly not out of ideas by any means - in Hollywood, he's scribed all three Transporter films, Taken and From Paris with Love and have all been released in the last decade. Back home in France he's got another franchise on the go - District 13 (a sequel was released three years later). So it's not quite as slick or full of ideas as Besson's own directorial efforts, it's still immense fun. Martial artist Cyril Raffaelli and parkour founder David Belle play a crusading cop and a slum resident wronged by a powerful drug lord respectively, and their incredible physicality is exploited to the max in a series of eye-popping, gravity-defying, wirework-free action set pieces. The scenes that really stand out are the film's opening, where Leito (Belle) flees from some thugs across Parisian rooftops, and demonstrates the most creative way of getting down a stairwell ever committed to film, and also the scene where Tomasco (Raffaelli) single-handedly dispatches wave after wave of armed henchmen in a drug den. These are the kinds of scenes action movies are made for. They are truly outstanding. The scenes in between the action are a little under-whelming, and though Raffaelli and Belle are decent actors as well as stuntmen, they have very little to work with considering the emotionally empty script. The themes that the film addresses are also directly borrowed from Besson's previous French dystopian thriller Nikita - this isn't an outright complaint, it still makes for an entertaining enough back-story to the film, but it's a little less hard-hitting the second time round. District 13's jaw-dropping choreography and stuntwork make it a cut-above most action movie fare, and it's a heart-pumping thrill-ride throughout, but a hollow core and Besson's recycled ideas hold it back from being anything more.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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7
Nesbitt10Jul 1, 2013
The straight-faced absurdity is part of the film's charm, but it's the relentless pace with invigorating action sequences that comes to define "District B13." Director Pierre Morel, working from a script by producer Luc Besson, focuses onlyThe straight-faced absurdity is part of the film's charm, but it's the relentless pace with invigorating action sequences that comes to define "District B13." Director Pierre Morel, working from a script by producer Luc Besson, focuses only on the essentials for an action film: speed, stunts, and the kind of human special effects that technology can't deliver.

Set in future of 2010, "District B13" imagines crime and anarchy to have gotten so out of control that the government has erected a wall to isolate a suburban ghetto from proper Paris residents. Leïto (David Belle) is one of few residents to challenge gang leaders, who are profiting from illegal activities festering inside the slums. The undesirable occupants of District B13 are ruled by the ruthless, drug addicted gangster Taha (Bibi Naceri), who is protected by his own crew of criminals. When these gangsters mysteriously acquire a massive bomb and trip the 24-hour fuse, elite cop Damien (Cyril Rafaelli) teams up with local resident and crime stopper Leïto to save the day. And yes, the story line is as ridiculously bad as it sounds.

"District B13" is simply a continuous stream of fight and chase scenes, each more elaborate than the next. The film's opening chase sequence is devoted to Leïto as he dazzles with his virtuosic ability to leap across buildings and rooftops, through windows, and over the various concrete impediments of the urban jungle. (Belle's athletic talent stems from his background as one of the founders of the sport of Parkour, which combines running and martial arts, moves for total mobility in an urban environment). All of the stunt work done real, what you see is what you get (no CGI). Both Raffaelli and Belle execute all of their own stunts, while stylishly captured by first-time director Pierre Morel.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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