If you see the poster for Banlieue B13, you've got a pretty good idea of what the movie is all about: ripped Frenchmen dodging and twisting their way through a concrete environment, exchanging gunfire with crimelords and innumerable goons, all for the sake of a pretty girl and the salvation of...the entire city of Paris. Okay. Given that the man behind this lunacy is "French Spielberg" (or perhaps Jerry Bruckheimer) Luc Besson, you may be forgiven for supposing that this film is pretty much a cartoon, but unlike such tired hackwork like the Transporter or XXX films, in which it's all about the star and how cool he looks, in this movie it's all about looking cool, regardless of who's doing it. Wisely putting attitude before depth in a film of this nature goes a long way to making it work.
The story, therefore, is necessarily simple: in France of the near future, the worst part of town (Banlieue B13) is walled off and given over to the rule of crimelords and their veritable armies of paid guns. Leito (David Belle), lives with his sister Lola (Dany Verissimo) in pretty much the only "clean" apartment block in the neighborhood, but even he can't escape the pervasive activities of drug kingpin Taha (Bibi Naceri), who rules over B13 with an iron fist (he's the sort of boss who will blow away his own men at the drop of a hat if displeased). For no reasons that are explained Leito incurs the wrath of Taha, who sends a hit squad to take him out.
The first sequence of the film, therefore, consists of a chase scene, and what a chase it is: for Leito, like pretty much everyone else in the film, is a master of parkour, the French extreme activity that involves vaulting like a flying squirrel over walls, fences, and very small windows, all while throwing punches and looking supercool. It's all familiar to anyone who's watched any Jackie Chan movie, but nonetheless delivers on a purely visceral level unlike anything in films like the Matrix. There, it's all about doing the dance flawlessly - it's not real, so Keanu Reeves never has to break a sweat or slip on a wet patch. But in Banlieue 13, folks sweat, slip and scramble all over the place (and broken ankles do occur). And it's all done with nary a computer effect in sight, which makes it all the more impressive.
But to continue. Taha wants revenge on Leito, so he grabs his sister. Leito storms the place and turns the tables on Taha, ultimately presenting him to the local police. However, they're clearing out - the government has finally given up on B13, and Taha's allowed to go free. Not only that, they arrest Leito. Not only that, they let Taha leave with Lola as a hostage. Now it's personal.
Flash forward six months. A top cop, Damien (Cyril Rafaelli), conveniently also a master of parkour, is assigned to recover a recently stolen nuke from Taha's compound. And to do it, they'll give him a partner, someone who knows B13 like the back of his hand. That's right, they give him Leito. Together these two will take on an entire army of thugs to disarm the nuke (which is on a 24 hour timer!) and rescue Lola (who's been made into a junkie and literally kept on a leash!), all while looking supercool. I have used that word a lot with good reason.
Banlieue B13 is more or less a rehash of John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13, replacing the police with two twisty guys. As with that film, there's some mild political overtones to the proceedings - this whole nuke business smells fishy, as if the government, who has pulled up stakes in B13, isn't overtly concerned that Damien ACTUALLY disarm it...perhaps a social problem gone in one fell swoop, as it were. The script doesn't care all that much, nor are the actors of the sort who really act so much as say what's necessary to get them to the next kickass action scene. Instead, whatever message the film has is merely icing on the cake. No, scratch that - this film isn't deep or rich enough to be a cake. It's icing on a pan of brownies. With chocolate chips in them. Chocolate chips that can leap from a second story balcony onto concrete and then deliver a jaw-shattering roundhouse, all in the same movement. Sounds good to me.
The story, therefore, is necessarily simple: in France of the near future, the worst part of town (Banlieue B13) is walled off and given over to the rule of crimelords and their veritable armies of paid guns. Leito (David Belle), lives with his sister Lola (Dany Verissimo) in pretty much the only "clean" apartment block in the neighborhood, but even he can't escape the pervasive activities of drug kingpin Taha (Bibi Naceri), who rules over B13 with an iron fist (he's the sort of boss who will blow away his own men at the drop of a hat if displeased). For no reasons that are explained Leito incurs the wrath of Taha, who sends a hit squad to take him out.
The first sequence of the film, therefore, consists of a chase scene, and what a chase it is: for Leito, like pretty much everyone else in the film, is a master of parkour, the French extreme activity that involves vaulting like a flying squirrel over walls, fences, and very small windows, all while throwing punches and looking supercool. It's all familiar to anyone who's watched any Jackie Chan movie, but nonetheless delivers on a purely visceral level unlike anything in films like the Matrix. There, it's all about doing the dance flawlessly - it's not real, so Keanu Reeves never has to break a sweat or slip on a wet patch. But in Banlieue 13, folks sweat, slip and scramble all over the place (and broken ankles do occur). And it's all done with nary a computer effect in sight, which makes it all the more impressive.
But to continue. Taha wants revenge on Leito, so he grabs his sister. Leito storms the place and turns the tables on Taha, ultimately presenting him to the local police. However, they're clearing out - the government has finally given up on B13, and Taha's allowed to go free. Not only that, they arrest Leito. Not only that, they let Taha leave with Lola as a hostage. Now it's personal.
Flash forward six months. A top cop, Damien (Cyril Rafaelli), conveniently also a master of parkour, is assigned to recover a recently stolen nuke from Taha's compound. And to do it, they'll give him a partner, someone who knows B13 like the back of his hand. That's right, they give him Leito. Together these two will take on an entire army of thugs to disarm the nuke (which is on a 24 hour timer!) and rescue Lola (who's been made into a junkie and literally kept on a leash!), all while looking supercool. I have used that word a lot with good reason.
Banlieue B13 is more or less a rehash of John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13, replacing the police with two twisty guys. As with that film, there's some mild political overtones to the proceedings - this whole nuke business smells fishy, as if the government, who has pulled up stakes in B13, isn't overtly concerned that Damien ACTUALLY disarm it...perhaps a social problem gone in one fell swoop, as it were. The script doesn't care all that much, nor are the actors of the sort who really act so much as say what's necessary to get them to the next kickass action scene. Instead, whatever message the film has is merely icing on the cake. No, scratch that - this film isn't deep or rich enough to be a cake. It's icing on a pan of brownies. With chocolate chips in them. Chocolate chips that can leap from a second story balcony onto concrete and then deliver a jaw-shattering roundhouse, all in the same movement. Sounds good to me.