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63
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79
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64
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69
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You, the Living
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
District B13

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 28 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 31 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Action | Comedy | Foreign | Sci-fi
Written by:
Luc Besson
Bibi Naceri
Directed by: Pierre Morel
Release Date:
Theatrical: June 2, 2006
DVD: September 5, 2006
Running Time: 85 minutes, Color
Origin: France
Summary
RATING: R for strong violence, some drug content and language
Starring Cyril Raffaelli, David Belle, Tony D'Amario, Bibi Naceri, Dany Verissimo, François Chattot, Nicolas Woirion, and Patrick Olivier
Paris, 2010. An isolation wall surrounds the ghetto cities. Without effective law enforcement, with these walls, gang rule is absolute. (Magnolia Pictures)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Taken
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
It's great to see action stars cast for their moves -- their grace in motion is thrilling -- but they also have the charisma to pull off the characters.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Schickel
Makes everything Hollywood has lately done in the action genre look clumsy, dull and stale. It is a short, nonstop stuntfest that, by going back to basics and placing them on the screen with simple, breathless stylishness, turns what is essentially a lowlife movie form into something one is not embarrassed to call "pure" cinema--all energy, movement and high kinetic wit.
Read Full Review >Film Threat KJ Doughton
Think of "Escape from New York" starring two French Spidermen on speed, and you've got District B13, a snazzy, sensational action ride from big-bang guru Luc Besson.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
Like its stunt work, the movie is both ridiculously hyperactive and a muscular feat of absolute confidence. I don't expect to have a more adrenalizing time at the movies this summer.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
It may be subtitled, and the faces may be unfamiliar, but District B13 is the best buddy action movie around.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Nathan Lee
With backing from the film's producer and co-writer, Luc Besson, the director, Pierre Morel, mounts a breakneck B movie inspired by Hong Kong action extravaganzas, the gritty genre classics of John Carpenter and the Thai neo-kung fu parable "Ong Bak." He hasn't reinvented this particular wheel, but he gets it spinning with delirious savoir-faire.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Jim Ridley
Spread the word: This delirious import is the most (maybe the only) fun action movie of the summer.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
This French import is a worthy entrant into the adrenalized cadre of action films like "Run Lola Run" and "Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior" (which Besson produced). What District B13 lacks in story development it compensates for with stunningly realistic action.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
For better and worse, the entire film goes by like a theme-park cyclone ride. It makes as much sense as it needs to when you're on it. All it leaves in its wake is a residue of vertigo and speed.
Read Full Review >Premiere Ethan Alter
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.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Besson takes a few clumsy stabs at political relevance, but it's clear that grand themes are not his priority. That's okay: His charismatic leads are martial-arts masters, and their breathtaking stunts smoothly lift the movie every time it stumbles.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Marc Bernardin
The big innovation here is that the two nimble leads, stuntmen-turned-stars, are devotees of parkour, a fancy French word for the fluid use of urban environments as jungle gyms.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
What you're seeing isn't wire work or CGI -- it's stunt choreography, beautifully executed, flawlessly cut together and brainlessly thrilling.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Real-life events have overtaken District B13, and they give this feverish, yet oddly flat French action adventure a whiff of substance to go along with its spectacular stunts.
Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
This is every bit as silly and adolescent as you'd expect from Besson, and about as contemporary as "The Perils of Pauline." But I was delighted by the balletic and acrobatic stunts, some of which evoke Tarzan.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ernest Hardy
Go for the dazzling, if repetitive, human stunt work. Endure the appallingly simplistic politics.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck
By most standards, District B13 is a fairly routine summer action movie, albeit one in French. But what makes it unique are the truly amazing and kinetic action scenes featuring Parkour pioneer Belle and co-star Cyril Raffaelli.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Morel tries to keep the energy up for 85 minutes straight, but the film never manages to top itself, and in spite of the political overtones, it doesn't provide much thematic sustenance.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
As a brief introduction to Belle and his amazing gifts, District B 13 is a treat. But as a movie its feet are dully planted on the ground.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
Flashy camera work, a clattering techno soundtrack and impressive synchronized stunt work fill where the plot goes AWOL.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
District B13 is action porn. It's a series of amazingly choreographed, kinetic action sequences tied together by a laughably bad script and worse acting.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust
More athletes than actors, Raffaelli and Belle are terrific when their bodies are in motion but the movie grinds to a halt when they open their mouths.
Read Full Review >Empire Staff (Not credited)
The cast hurls itself into the comic-book violence, while the stunt choreography and razor-sharp editing are exhilarating.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein
If you can still be entertained by a thriller that unabashedly borrows from others of its ilk and don't mind reading subtitles, you could do worse than District B13. It's over so fast, in a quick 85 minutes, there's scarcely time to get bored by the silly plot.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
District B13 looks great, but don't let those subtitles fool you. At heart, it's every bit as proudly dumb as its American counterparts.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
Its hackneyed themes prevent the sci-fi flick from feeling like anything more than well-directed mediocrity.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 31 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Mike N. gave it a6:
Too much aciton- other Luc Besson films have a moral messge or internal conflict of the hero but not here.
Yousaf K. gave it a10:
Brilliant just brilliant. I couldn't sit in my sofa while watching this movie. I can't spend a day without watching it. It's a must watch for action freaks.
Sam gave it a10:
Ultimate lads film. This is just what I’ve been waiting for. Parkour is an amazing artist and great to watch!
Sandra A. gave it a10:
It's the best!!!
Ice Lee gave it a10:
SUPER!
Steve B. gave it a9:
Hot chick, dirty cops, cool gangs, fast cars, explosions, drugs, guns, great fight scenes and great soundtrack with driving techno beats. Crazy environment, "Escape From New York" on steroids. A movie for the guys!
Awesome Dude gave it a10:
Paris, 2010: The best plot ever. Amazing.
