District B13

Original French title is Banlieue 13. Although the movie is set in 2010 Paris, it is an apt title considering the French riots happened in its real gettos, aka banlieues, due to discrimnatory French police actions couple months ago, making world headlines.

Say what you will of Luc Besson, but you can't deny that the man brough great action flicks out of France, and this is one of them. Cartoony, Hong Kong with a bit of French charm is his forte and selling point. He builds from Yamakazi, add a bit of Jackie Chan/Hong Kong actions, with a bit of Tony Jaa's Ong Bak - Thai Warrior moves, with a cute French damsel in distress, and tie them up with the grand theme of Equality, you have a nice package that satisfies your thirst for high-flying action for 90 minutes.

The direction is superb, although the beginning part was a bit of bumpy but once you get on the ride, there's no punch pulled. Sure Tom did some dangerous stunts in MI3, but we all know that it's CGI/stunt double/whatever. It's nice to see actors moving swiftly, interacting physically with real world objects, and not afraid to get get down and dirty, for a good cause. (So tell me again, what exactly Tom accomplished in MI3 except stopping bad guys from grabbing rabbit's foot?) Although the film was released in France two years ago, and I watched a DVD version, it's finally getting into the US. Check out the trailer and tell me if it isn't money.