District 13: Ultimatum

I was really hoping for something amazing after the first one, but this was just OK. David Belle is the founder of French parkour and unlike to the first one, he really didn't show much skill in this one. He did have one crazy jump though. Cyril Raffaelli also didn't show off his karate and wushu skills like the first. He did have a couple cool scenes though. Now the story is a little continued from the first, but very weak compared to the first. But they did add a lot of colorful characters in this one that I enjoyed. They all had their personal fighting style or action. The music in this film was pretty nice and worked well with the action. Now back to the story of the film. It is the same basic background like the first, but with a different bad guy. I guess you could say is it is pretty uneventful. All you really wait for is Belle or Raffaelli to do something cool. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy parts of the film, just not all of it.

Well, let me get it out of the way -- "Ultimatum" is not as fun or exciting as the first film. Fans looking for more of the amazing David Belle and the stunts of parkour will find these elements lacking in the sequel. B-13 had a simple plot and explosive action sequences that still hold up well today. New director this time around and the crisp compositions and editing of the original are replaced with more uses of the hand-held cam, to less successful results. If you liked the opening camera-work in B13 -- you get a lot more of it here as the camera swooshes around the blocks of District 13 introducing the major players in the film. Fortunatly, the chemistry of Belle and Raffaelli is still strong, but they just don't have enough to do together in this plot. Speaking of plot, I would dare say that this sequel has too much plot and side characters. Belle seems like a supporting player in his own film. Now to be fair, there are a couple of good sequences that spark the original vibe of B-13, but sadly, they are few and far between. I had high hopes going into this one, but was let down overall. Let's hope that for the third film (come on, there has to be one) that both Belle and Raffaelli are given the room to really top and go beyond what we've seen them do before.

This exciting flick contains nail-biting action , thrills , spectacular scenes and plot twists . 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 an ex-thug try to infiltrate into a police precinct and Palace of President in order to save their barrios when some enemies are bent on destroying the five tower blocks at the heart of District 13 with tactical precision bombing . Once upon again Damien (Cyril Raffaelli) and Leito (David Belle , the originator of Le Parkour) are reunited upon to avoid a bombing on destroying the blocks at the heart of District 13 and save the city . They have to confront a nasty Police Chief from the Department of Internal State Security (DISS), and even Le Président De la République (Philippe Torreton) . 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 face off their enemies in order to avoid the total destruction their district as Damien and Leïto convince the five gang lords to band together to prevent it when the president authorizing the strike .

¨13th District : ultimatum ¨ is an amazing film that packs 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 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 .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 .The film was at the subject of a controversy when writer/producer Luc Besson accused cinema chain UGC in the French media of boycotting the film by not showing it in their Parisian suburbs cinemas, and thus trying to stop its intended audience from seeing it. UGC replied that they felt their distribution for the film was up to par and that in any case it wasn't Besson's business to decide which cinemas should or should not carry the film. Good and atmospheric cinematography using Steadicam and zooms with numerous locations from Paris slums ; however set in Paris, some of the film was shot in Serbia. 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 Patrick Alessandrin though Alexandre Aja and Pierre Morel (who took a break from filming ¨From Paris with love¨ to come visit the set in Paris) were originally hired to direct the movie the first . Filmmaker Alessandrin gives the action a dance-like quality and the whole movie lasted 14 weeks for production , idea, script, casting, filming, etc . Rating: Better than average, well worth seeing , this is a highly agreeable follow-up . The picture will appeal to explosive action fans

Jackie Chan has grown old, as has the Kung Fu craze, it is time for the French to show their talents in Parkeur and martial arts. The story itself doesn't make much sense, but the moves are simply great.

I have seen Banlieue 13 a long time ago and liked it for the action movie that it was, and this sequel was at least as packed with acrobatics, however I think it missed some of the feel of the first.

Bottom line: Hard to say anything more about the movie. Just watch it if you like action.

If this film doesn't make you want to go to the gym for at least 5 minutes, then I don't know what will :)

After a successful mission against drug lords, the efficient Captain Damien Tomaso (Cyril Raffaelli) is framed at home with three kilograms of heroine planted by the police in his kitchen and he is arrested. Meanwhile a group of teenagers film the action of dirty agents leaded by Roland (Pierre-Marie Mosconi) from the security agency executing policemen in their car and then leaving the car with the corpses in the 13th District to blame the gangs and begin a civil war. Behind these events, the corrupt chief of the security agency Walter Gassman (Daniel Duval) had received a huge amount as kickback from the constructor Harriburton that has interest to construct buildings in the poor area and uses the situation to force the President of France (Philippe Torreton) to authorize to nuke five towers in the district. The teenager with the film is hunted by the police but he delivers the memory card to Leito (David Belle); meanwhile Damien calls him from the precinct asking for help. The friends team-up with five dangerous bosses to gather evidences to prove to the president that Gassman has provoked the conflict in their district.

"Banlieue 13 – Ultimatum" is a great sequel of the awesome 2004 "Banlieue 13". The story has non-stop action scenes very well choreographed and an excellent screenplay; the performances of Cyril Raffaelli and David Belle with the Parkour are again very impressive. Unfortunately I found the conclusion disappointing and pointless and it seems to contradict the objective of the dwellers of the 13th District that meet the president to avoid him from blowing up their homes. How could they be so naive to believe in the word of a politician that was under pressure? Therefore in the end the winner is Harriburton! My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "B13 U – 13o Distrito – Ultimato" ("B13 U – 13th District – Ultimatum")