Banlieue 13 (2004) (District 13)
I caught this on Film 4 last night having missed it on release and ended up watching the whole thing.
It’s a ridiculously formulaic action movie with some frankly hilarious French gangsters but it does contain some utterly amazing action sequences based around parkour rather than the usual CGI effects. Really impressive stuff and I can see why it has drawn comparisons with Ong Bak given some of the stunts.
Basically it’s undercover cop must infiltrate walled-in future ghetto to disarm a nuclear bomb set to kill everyone inside. He also gets a partner he doesn’t get on with (but of course is destined to be his best buddy) who wants revenge on the people holding the bomb for kidnapping his sister and treating her like a dog.
If you can ignore what plot there is (PS. Snake Plissken wants his plot back) and try not to laugh at the ridiculous characters it’s actually worth watching.
