By Ryan Parsons | Image property of Magnolia Films.
District B13
When Magnolia Films sent over clips for their upcoming foreign actioner District B13, it was hard not to keep my jaw from dropping to the floor; or keyboard for that matter. Though the clips and trailer don't seem overly concerned about the story, the action and stunts should be enough to get this latest go from Luc Besson a solid amount of domestic attention.
District B13 Gets Reviewed
As we originally predicted, the action showcase alone is enough to carry District B13 to extremely positive reviews. In what reminds me of a Jackie Chan film on speed, this French film may be the one to watch this upcoming weekend (limited release).
Village Voice
For the twin offenses of being French and not starring Tom Cruise, District B13—a fanboy mash-up of John Carpenter's greatest hits, brought to you by the Luc Besson laboratories—is getting exiled to the art house ghetto. Spread the word: This delirious import is the most (maybe the only) fun action movie of the summer—swift, funny, filled with actual stunts instead of digitized mayhem, and primed at a moment's notice for megaton ass-kicking. Set in 2010 Paris, it fuses Escape From New York's futuristic city-as-prison concept with Assault on Precinct 13's bristling political subtext, as an undercover cop (Cyril Raffaelli) and a convict (David Belle) battle their way through a walled-in underclass banlieue searching for a massive "clean bomb." The plot is mostly straight-to-video silliness, except for a final kicker that feeds off the real-life unrest seething in Paris's strife-torn suburbs.
EFilmCritic
You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to find the answer to those Transporter supporters. (About two weeks.) The white man-as-martial-arts-spectacular never really reached the promise of Steven Seagal or Jeff Speakman, both of whom may have cursed the entire concept forever. Jason Statham has the appeal but not the directors yet to make him a viable force. Pierre Morel was the cinematographer on the original Transporter and must have learned from the many mistakes because his first effort giving the orders has resulted in one of the best adrenaline rushes since we saw Lola running for 90 minutes.
Check out the full reviews for District B13 by clicking on the bold links above (new window).
District B13 will have a limited release on June 2nd.
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