Banlieue 13 (2004)

Director:

Pierre Morel

Writers:

Luc Besson (writer)
Bibi Naceri (writer)

Release Date:

10 November 2004 (France)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Welcome to District B13 Welcome to the future

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Bomb | Neutron Bomb | Police | Ghetto | Drugs

Awards:

1 win

Cast

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

Also Known As:

13th District (International: English title) (Singapore: English title)
District 13 (UK) (USA) (literal English title)
District B13 (Canada: English title) (USA)
B13 - Banlieue 13 (France) (poster title)
Barrio 13 (Australia) (DVD title)
Тринадцатый район (Russia) [ru]
13. dzielnica (Poland) [pl]
13th District (Finland) (video title) [fi]
13th District (Thailand: English title) [en]
B13 - 13º Distrito (Brazil) [pt]
B13 - 13th District (Sweden) [sv]
Ghetto Gangz - Die Hölle vor Paris (Germany) (DVD title) [de]
Poliisipiiri B13 (Finland) (TV title) [fi]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, some drug content and language.

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX | DTS-ES

Certification:

Taiwan:R-18 | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:NC-16 | France:-12 | UK:15 | USA:R | Germany:18 | Canada:14A | Ireland:15A | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Australia:MA | Australia:MA (2008) | Netherlands:12 | Spain:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud)

Filming Locations:

MediaPro Studios, Bucharest, Romania

Company:

Europa Corp.

Trivia:

The whole movie took 10 months for production (idea, script, casting, filming, etc), January 2004 - October 2004.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the English dub, when the code is being typed into the bomb, Tomaso reads it as "D13", but types "B13", due to the translation of Banlieue as District.

Quotes:

Damien: [impressed, after watching Leito tie up Yeti] Where did you learn that?
Leïto: A cookbook or some official manual... I don't remember.

Movie Connections:

Features "Por Amor" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Résistant

A good action flick

What is there to like about this movie? Well, the plot is pretty good, even though I'd have much more trouble suspending my disbelief if it would not have been French. In the wake of all the ruckus in France, this movie feels pretty realistic as a social commentary.

The stunts(Parkour) are amazing. Smooth, fluid motion and crisp, no-bullshit camera-work makes it a real treat to the eye. The fighting scenes are cool too, and they at least partially real(for unreal, watch Hard Target or any other Van Damme movie. For real, watch Heat) and not as repetitive and drawn-out as the usual ones.

The whole ghetto atmosphere works really well. Concrete and poverty works fine as scenery. Dialouge seemed good too from what I got from the subtitles.

What's there to dislike? Well, character development is the same-old. Two different guys team up and saves the day, overcome their differences and live happily ever after. It has been done before, but at least it's done well here.

The music is consistent and fitting, so that's more of a matter of taste.

Otherwise, the movie is pretty much solid. Minor flaws, but on the whole a treat from the moment it starts to the end. Not something you add to the DVD collection, maybe, but certainly worthwhile. -7/10