Even the story is more convoluted this time around. Despite promises of reform and reincorporation of the violent, walled-off ghettos into the rest of futuristic Parisian society, nothing has changed. As a result, good guy Leito (Belle) is angry. Working with the other warlords in the slums, he strategizes on how best to get back at the bureaucracy that led them astray.
Meanwhile, straitlaced policeman Damien Tomaso (Cyril Raffaelli), fresh off of taking down a major drug ring, is framed by the Department of Internal State Security and sent to prison. While he is under wraps, a covert operation stirs up dissention in the districts.
It's all part of a plan by top cop Walter Gassman (Daniel Duval) to destroy the area and reap the kickback rewards when it is eventually rebuilt by private contractor Harriburton (no, that's not a misspelling). It is up to our former unlikely partners to once again pair up and defeat evil with only their feet, their fists, and their wits.
With Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) still acting as screenwriter and producer and new guide Patrick Alessandrin behind the lens, District B13 - Ultimatum definitely plays like an attempt to cash in -- but on what? Granted, the first film has a solid cult following and brought something entertaining and new to the genre. But without a real reason to set up a sequel except the anticipated financial windfall, this latest incarnation feels forced. Everything about the narrative is crafted to specifically bring Leito and Tomaso together, get them battling every member of the French police and military forces, and then, on occasion, add a few patented parkour finishing moves.
Sure, we marvel when Belle leaps from one multi-story skyscraper to another -- again, under the promise of no outside protection or security -- and Rafaelli has fight scenes that rival the best that Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and the Shaw Brothers have to offer. But instead of pushing the envelope regarding what parkour can truly bring, District B13 - Ultimatum gets bogged down in its own need to be outsized and epic. Even then, the big splashy finale which is supposed to symbolize the end of martial law and the beginning of a new regime in the districts is relegated to a series of sounds and other elements that all happen off-screen, without the visual payoff that's been promised the entire film.
If all you really care about is toned and talented stuntmen/actors beating up extras and looking buff, if you don't mind Besson's recycled crime storylines, which at this point seem destined to intersect and implode into each other (check out this week's From Paris with Love for additional proof), then you'll enjoy District B13 - Ultimatum. It's derivative if dopey fun. Go in expecting something as startling as the original, however,and you'll be disappointed. All the pieces are in place. It's how they are handled which seems flat and familiar.
Aka Banlieue 13 - Ultimatum.
