District 13: Ultimatum

The walled 13th district of Paris is still standing and the state wants it flattened and replaced with a business centre. The secret service fabricates footage of police being killed there in order to push the president into a military operation. To stop it, Damien and Leïto have to get the five gang leaders of the district, all enemies, around one table. Patrick Alessandrin directed from a screenplay by Luc Besson. Cyril Raffaelli plays Damien and David Belle, who founded parkour, plays Leïto. It is the sequel to District 13 from 2004. What distinguishes the series is the absence of effects: the fights and the parkour are done by the two performers with their own bodies, without wires or digital help. Belle established the discipline itself and every jump in the films is real. Who it is for: viewers who want parkour and fighting done for real. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a script. The political frame is crude and the film manufactures pretexts to get from one set piece to the next.