PREMIERE.COM'S MOVIE REVIEW (posted 6/2/06)

"This is mission impossible!" cries heroic Parisian cop Damien (Cyril Raffaelli) when he's told he has less than 24 hours to infiltrate the city's most dangerous neighborhood and recover a powerful bomb from a local drug lord. Actually dude, it's more like mission improbable. But hey, the sheer ridiculousness of the story is part of the fun of this French import, which was produced by Luc Besson (The Professional, La Femme Nikita) and stars two stuntmen turned...um...turned stuntmen with dialogue.

The setting is Paris 2010: unable to clean up the crime-ridden streets of District B13, the city government has built a wall around the entire area and left the residents inside to fend for themselves. Leito (David Belle) and his younger sister Lola (Dany Verissimo) have so far managed to get by, but their lives take a turn for the worse when he runs afoul of neighborhood kingpin Taha (Bibi Naceri). Eventually, Leito winds up in prison while Lola becomes the Princess Leia to Taha's Jabba the Hutt. Fast-forward six months and Taha has gotten his hands on a so-called "clean bomb" an experimental prototype with enough power to destroy large sections of the city. That's where Damien comes in; but even his extensive undercover experience and superior martial arts skills may not be enough to get him in and out of District B13 alive. So he breaks Leito out of prison and together this dynamic duo tries to take Taha down once and for all.

Clocking in at a brisk 85 minutes, District B13 moves quickly enough that the audience really doesn't have time to ponder its various inconsistencies and general lack of logic. The main attraction is the action sequences, which are refreshingly free of the CGI-clutter that dominates most of this season's big thrill rides. All of the stunts and fights are performed without special effects; the only enhancements come courtesy of some fast-motion cinematography. Many of these sequences are also choreographed using a new discipline invented by Belle called parkour, which basically involves the heroes running across rooftops, leaping off of balconies and clambering over buildings like monkeys on speed. It's hugely entertaining to watch, especially because you know these guys are actually doing this crazy stuff themselves. Belle and Raffaelli may not be particularly good dramatic actors—their idea of expressing intensity involves lots of scowling and finger-pointing—but their Teflon personalities complement the silliness of the whole enterprise.

Between the action, director Pierre Morel gleefully references everything from Assault on Precinct 13 to Scarface (Taha keeps a mound of cocaine on his desk that would put even Tony Montana to shame). And while the film runs out of ideas as it enters the home stretch (this parkour stuff does grow kind of repetitive after awhile), at least it never loses its sense of humor. If you've been disappointed by the recent rash of mediocre blockbusters, District B13 may provide some of the mindless fun you're looking for. —Ethan Alter