Perfect cast and a good story

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

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. Banlieue 13 will offer you an 1 hour and 24 minutes of action and a lot of parkour and David Belle did an amazing job with all those stunts the film was directed by Pierre Morel (Taken) and it was written by Luc Besson (Leon) so i just gave you 2 reasons why this is a must watch Foreign film it has some pretty cool action sequences and a lot of cool stunts it also has one sequel and an American remake starring Paul Walker and David Belle alongside RZA it's not as good as this film was but it's still pretty watchable for a remake to be honest.

Banlieue 13 is a thrilling straightforward action movie.I debated with myself if a 10/10 score would be giving it too much credit, but no, this movie deserves it. This movie is awesome.The stunts are believable and outstanding to watch. It has that thrilling effect where everything is on the edge.The plot was OK to me. It's simple and it's done in a great manner. For a 84 minutes movie, everything looks fine. Though I think IMDb's description about the movie is kinda off: Leito is not a thug by any means. I'd describe him as a punisher; or just a good guy who got tired of all that cr** -- not a thug by any means, though I get what they were thinking!Action at its best!

With a poll coming up on IMDbs Classic Film board for the best titles of 2004,I was happily caught by surprise,when a very kind fellow IMDber sent me a DVD of a great-looking French Action movie,which led to me getting ready to enter District 13.The plot:Seeing crime go out of control,the French government in 2010 decide to build a wall to separate the most crime-ridden ghettos from the rest of France.2013 (How futuristic!):Finding that all of his heroin supply has been destroyed by Leïto,leading gangster Taha Bemamud decides to get his revenge by kidnapping Leïto's sister Lola.Discovering that his sister has been taken, Leïto fights to get her back,but his stopped in his tracks by a group of corrupt police officers,who put Leïto in jail.6 Months later:Learning that Bemamud's gang has gotten hold of a nuclear bomb which is set to go off in 24 hours,the French government decide to send Capt. Damien Tomaso over the wall so that he can defuse the bomb.With Tomaso knowing nothing about what is behind the wall, Leïto is freed from prison,so that he can become Tomaso's guide.Getting behind the wall,Tomaso and Leïto soon discover that a hidden threat is being prepared.View on the film:Kicking things off with an explosive title sequence,director Pierre Morel and Manuel Teran give the film a blazing stylised appearance ,with Morel & Teran using rapid-fire tracking shots to show the destructive battleground of the ghettos,as the superb electronic score from Bastide Donny/ Da Octopuss and Damien Roques packs a real punch with the snappy action scenes.Whilst the stunts,(all performed with no CGI or wires) are impressive,Morel never allows them to be given the breathing space to display their full impact,due to the lightning fast editing not allowing for the viewer to fully soak up the breath- taking stunt work.Entering the district with a firm mind-set of what is right and wrong, Cyril Raffaelli gives a very good performance as Capt. Damien Tomaso,with Raffaelli showing Tomaso's straight-edge law & order ideas get chipped away,as Tomaso finds out what the government's plan for the district are.Joining Raffaelli, David Belle gives a gritty,extremely energetic performance as street-smart Leïto,whilst co-writer (along with Luc Besson) Bibi Naceri lights up the screen as cackling baddie Taha Bemamud,and Tony D'Amario gives an excellent,animated performance as Bemamud's henchmen K2,as everyone fights for survival in the crime ridden ghetto of District 13.

Thrilling and violent movie with a phenomenal starring pair and in which Cyril Raffaelli and David Belle cast all the Stuntmen themselves . Set in the rundown ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb . When the government learns that local kingpin (Larbi or Bibi Narceri , Sami Narceri's brother ; even though Bibi Naceri co-wrote the script, he still had to audition for the part of Taha along with other actors) has acquired a nuclear weapon , Damien (Cyril Raffaelli) and Leito (David Belle , the originator of Le Parkour ) are called upon to avoid an atomic bomb on destroying the blocks at the heart of District 13 with tactical precision and as save the city . With acrobatic skillfulness and adrenaline pumping belief in their own abilities, they throw themselves out from incredible heights, and jump from roof to roof ; locked doors and 'No Trespassing' signs become irresistible challenges . They confront their enemies in order to find out location the bomb (the bomb code is: 9293709B13) and his sister (Dany Verissimo who spent two whole days on a roof in the freezing cold in ripped clothes, handcuffed to a bomb and Luc Besson wrote the part of Lola specifically for her) who was formerly kidnapped , but someone is still after them and are forced to once again take up violent means to survive .¨13th District¨ is an exciting film that contains suspense , thrills, noisy action , shootouts and violent fights . The main couple is unabashed in its dedication to fanboy stunt work . From the beginning to the final the noisy action and fast movement is unstopped , including breathtaking scenes in which bounds and leaps through apartments blocks and at moments give the impression that they are flying . Cyril Raffaelli as a hard-rock , two-fisted agent is top-notch . This is a frantic rehash of ¨Escape from NY¨ , rightly realized in French style . The highlights of the movie are The Parkour , also known in USA as Free Running whose origin was in ¨Yamasaki¨ film directed by Ariel Zeitoun , Julien Seri and also produced by Luc Besson with his production company called ¨EuropaCorps¨ . Duo protagonist more than make up for in an skill to soar across a rolling medley highrise flats blocks . The way in which the actors prove this abilities , is in fact an activity called Parkour and was invented by David Belle himself , influenced by his father Raymond Belle . Cyril Raffaelli and David Belle had three months to prepare all their Parkour stunts for the film . There weren't any special effects , wire-work, computer graphics... used in 90% of the Parkour scenes . Good cinematography by cameraman Manuel Teran using Steadicam and zooms with numerous locations from Paris slums . The musician Da Octopuss creates a stirring, moving soundtrack fitting to frantic action . Lavishly produced by the successful French producer and director Luc Besson . The flick was stunningly realized by the habitual cameraman, Pierre Morel in his first film, -the second was the successful ¨Taken¨- , though Alexandre Aja was originally hired to direct the movie the first . Filmmaker Pierre gives the action a dance-like quality and the whole movie took 10 months for production , idea, script, casting, filming, etc , as from January 2004 to October 2004 . Followed by "District 13: Ultimatum" by Patrick Alessandrin again with Cyril Raffaelli as Capt. Damien Tomaso , David Belle as Leïto , Philippe Torreton as Le Président De la République and as well as starring in the film, Cyril Raffaelli also choreographed all the fight sequences ; however David Belle didn't practice all his Parkour stunts , most of the ones that you see in the film were of him performing the stunt for the first time . Rating: Better than average, well worth seeing , this is a highly agreeable action movie . The picture will appeal to explosive action fans