13th District

Besson's screenplay is the standard bullshit about saving a city, honor, and one babe. The extra political agitprop is more or less laughable, but director Pierre Morel works wonders to turn the film into a non-stop action affair, where the longest spoken intermezzo is ten seconds long so that the protagonists can spout some ultra-cool catchphrase and then launch into another parkour inferno. They’ll be climbing on balconies, and jumping on hoods, and there is also some shooting. Viewers won't even bother to count after a while. In terms of an audience of disposable consumers of contemporary French exports, it’s the ultimate hit. I admit it, I had a great time too! (07/23/2006)

When a screenplay for an action movie is written by Besson, you don’t expect to be drawn into the story at all. Usually his scripts are concerned with guys beating up on each other or shooting each other to bits in various stylish ways... This makes it even more surprising that various talking and wannabe story-making interludes take up a good two-thirds of the running time. The action sequences are pretty well done and, thanks to the parkour antics, gobsmacking, but they lack originality and are rather forgettable. Simply a solid, cheap B-movie that tries to be cool in all respects, but doesn’t manage even for an instant. On the other hand, it is neither lame nor ridiculous, so it’s quite a success. (07/30/2007)

A naive story that provides laughter with the exceptional acting performances in tense moments, but thanks to its short duration and perfectly intense action, it is so electrifying that it would knock you out as well. Without a pause and without any weak spots. (10/29/2005)

French distorts the overall experience of the film in a massive way, but maybe it's just a lack of language knowledge, who knows. Anyway, District 13 is terrible nonsense, very skillfully shot with beautiful parkour, a feast for the eyes and ears. In terms of action, Pierre Morel always excels. The plot is non-existent, in my opinion, much more could have been extracted from the source material than what was ultimately transformed into the screen. The physicality of the two main characters is phenomenal. Watch it more as a sports video clip and also for fans of European stench, like Michael Bay – they will also be at least partially satisfied. (06/30/2013)

A clear victory of form over content, I've never seen such a brilliantly shot and edited action flick in French cinema. Now that I think about it, the script was actually nothing more than a bunch of clichés about a group of gangsters, a stolen bomb and saving the city, but what director Morel was able to do with it deserves great admiration. The first half hour was incredible and there was no end to the chases on balconies, the gunfights or the awesome fight choreographies. The second half hour was almost comparable, the story still flowed like water and there was something to watch even with clogged ears. The mild disappointment came at the end, which didn't spoil the overall impression, but after that relentless five-star entertainment I expected a bit more from it. In any case, an excellent action ride, though visibly harmed by the attempt to tell a story, especially at the end. 85% (10/22/2012)

A fairly brisk film, which is also quite entertaining, with the right drive, and decently developed characters - simply a film that could be a good buddy movie, but still somehow failed to truly engage me. I definitely appreciate the action positively, but that's mainly the only thing that caught my interest. True, the story is not stupid. (01/23/2017)