District B13

In 2010 a Paris suburb, Banlieue 13, has been walled off: two million people living without schools, utilities or police. A nuclear device inside is accidentally armed with a twenty-four-hour countdown. The plot is a pretext; the film is about bodies. David Belle is one of the founders of parkour and plays Leïto using his own discipline, while Cyril Raffaelli carries the fighting. No wires and no digital effects were used in the action, so everything on screen is actually happening. The apartment block escape that opens the film still needs a second viewing. Luc Besson and Bibi Naceri wrote it, with Besson producing. Director Pierre Morel went on to make Taken. Rotten Tomatoes has it at 81 percent from 113 reviews. It runs 86 minutes and never takes a breath. District 13: Ultimatum followed in 2009, and the 2014 English-language remake Brick Mansions moved it to Detroit with Paul Walker. Who it is for: viewers who want action built on choreography rather than effects. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a script. The story is crude and the political backdrop stays superficial.