District 13

In 2010, social problems have overrun the poorer suburbs of Paris. Especially Banlieue 13, commonly referred to as B13: a ghetto with a population of two million people. Unable to control B13, the authorities surround the entire area with a high wall topped by barbed tape, forcing the inhabitants within to survive without education, proper utilities or police protection. Police checkpoints stop anybody going in or out. Three years later, the district has become overrun with gangs. Leïto (David Belle) is a fighter of such gangs. He disposes of a case of drugs down a drain, then escapes the gang who has come to collect the drugs. The gang's leader, Taha, kidnaps Leïto's sister Lola in retaliation. Leïto is able to rescue her and take Taha to the police station, but the police arrest Leïto and let Taha leave with Lola, stating that they are leaving the district.

Six months later, undercover policeman Damien Tomaso completes a successful operation at a casino in Paris. His next assignment: Taha's gang has taken a bomb from a nuclear transport vehicle and accidentally activated it, giving it 24 hours before it wipes out the district. Posing as a prisoner, Damien infiltrates the district to disarm the bomb. Leïto immediately sees through Damien's cover, but the two reluctantly team up to save Leïto's sister as well. The pair surrenders to Taha in order to gain access to his base, where they find the bomb has been set up on a missile launcher aimed at Paris, with Lola handcuffed to it. Taha demands a high ransom to deactivate the bomb; the government refuses. After Damien gives them Taha's bank account codes, they drain his funds. Leïto and Damien escape, and Taha is killed by his own men when they realize he will be unable to pay them. The much more benevolent K2 takes over and allows Leïto and Damien to stop the bomb.

After fighting their way to the building, Damien calls his contact to receive the deactivation code. However, after recognizing certain symbols in the code, Leïto deduces that the government has framed them, and the code will actually detonate the bomb instead of deactivating it. After Leïto and Damien fight, Lola is able to restrain Damien long enough for the timer on the bomb to run out. The bomb does not explode, proving Leïto right. The pair return to the government building with the bomb and use it to force the government agent to admit that he had planned to blow up B13 as a means to end its existence, catching it on camera and broadcasting nationally. Soon the rest of the government promises to tear down the containment wall and bring back schools and police to B13. Leïto and Damien depart as friends, and Lola kisses Damien, encouraging him to visit B13.

• David Belle as Leïto
• Cyril Raffaelli as Damien Tomaso
• Tony D'Amario as K2
• Dany Verissimo as Lola
• Larbi Naceri as Taha (sometimes credited as Bibi Naceri)
• François Chattot as Krüger
• Nicolas Woirion as Corsini
• Patrick Olivier as The Colonel
• Samir Guesmi as Jamel
• Jeff Rudom as Yeti

District 13 received mostly positive reviews outside France. It holds a rating of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 115 reviews.[9] On Metacritic it has a score of 70 out of 100 based on reviews from 28 critics.[10] In France, reviews were slightly less positive.[2] The main issues discussed by the French critics were the similarity with both Escape from New York and Ong Bak, and the shallowness of the plot.[11]

Lisa Nesselson of Variety notes that some critics compared the film unfavorably to John Carpenter's Escape From New York but says although the narrative is derivative it "rarely feels that way thanks to bullet pacing, nifty choreography and a few well-placed rejoinders" and also called it "fast, dumb fun".[1] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "By most standards, District B13 is a fairly routine summer action movie, albeit one in French. But what makes it unique are the truly amazing and kinetic action scenes featuring Parkour pioneer Belle and co-star Cyril Raffaelli."[12]

Filming of a sequel, originally titled Banlieue 14, began in August 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia,[13] and continued until October 2008.[14] David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli both reprised their original roles of Leito and Damien, respectively.[15] The film with Luc Besson again producing and writing the screenplay. The title for the sequel was officially changed to District 13: Ultimatum in the post-production stages.[16] It was released in France on February 18, 2009, and the UK on October 2, 2009.

Brick Mansions is an English-language remake of the film. Set in Detroit, it began pre-production in 2010 by EuropaCorp.[17][18][19][20][21][22] Released in April 2014, it stars Paul Walker as Damien, with David Belle reprising his role from the original and rapper RZA as the gang leader.[22] The film is Walker's final completed film, finished before his death in November 2013.[22]

• District 13 on IMDb
• District 13 at AllMovie
• District 13 at Rotten Tomatoes
• Interview with director Pierre Morel at SFFWorld.com