District 13: Ultimatum

I’m a firm believer that you should not go watching sequels before you have seen the first movie, sadly this was not an option available to me when I watched District 13: Ultimatum (Banlieue 13 – Ultimatum). Luckily for me the movie was so cleverly pieced together that if you had not caught the first its not going to be an issue, no catching up on story, no hidden riddles; Ultimatum sits happily as a stand alone movie.

Rather like Escape From New York, District 13 places the people nobody wants to know or hear about behind a wall were they can’t be a hindrance to normal everyday people. This Paris suburb is home to various races, and clans who all operate their own individual crime waves. When a corrupt government agency plans a despicable act in order to gain wealth and rid Paris of its little problem its down to cop Damien (Cyril Raffaelli) and District 13 freedom fighter Leito (David Belle) to gather the evidence and fight for the people of District 13 before the government raise it to the ground.

D13: Ultimatum mixes the action movie with the wonder of Parkour, creating an enticing visual spectacle that continuously finds you asking, “How the hell did they do that?” The fight scenes and stunts are quite simply some of the best I have seen, working against an alien Parisian background, the film takes what could be viewed as a potentially normal looking action movie to a whole different level. The action is incredibly well choreographed whether jumping from roof to roof, to fighting with an almost priceless Van Gogh painting which turns from being unpleasant looking work of art to the ultimate weapon.

Story wise it’s simplistic story telling, which to someone who does not speak French is possibly not a bad thing. This is not a criticism of the movie but plain straightforward good sense. Thrillers, comedies, and horror movies all work very well in another language with onscreen subtitles, but an action movie does not always have the same effect; lines are often spouted out in quick succession in action movies not always allowing you to enjoy the visual spectacle unfolding on screen. D13 allows you to enjoy the action without bogging you down with unnecessary dialogue. Thankfully the DVD takes care of those that do not like their movies in a pure form, and has a dubbed English version, this allows the movie to be enjoyed by the biggest possible audience, an option not so commonly used now days.

There is a lot of humour in the movie, a little cheesy in places but in a cheeky fashion. Director Patrick Alessandrin (and of course screenwriter Luc Besson) seem keen to show their comic side, when you first meet Damien he is disguised (fairly badly) as a geisha girl, while his head is clearly masculine a lot of time is spent focussing on his waxed feminine flesh; it’s a prime example of one of those situations that is so wrong, but incredibly amusing.

The performances are good David Belle, and Cyril Raffaelli both prove you can be physically well trained and deliver a convincing acting performance. Supporting performers such as Elodie Yung who plays the movies action woman add real sparkle, while MC Jean Gab’1 who plays gang boss Molko offers a real feeling of menace and fairness

You could say the French movie industry is a little overlooked, and to be fair the French are not known for their action movies, however D13: Ultimatum is a rare exception to the rule. It’s easily as addictive as Luc Besson’s Nikita, not quite so deep but incredibly compelling to watch. The inclusion of Parkour means that with the original movie an obvious exception there is nothing that quite looks like this, it’s an instant, identifiable, unique looking movie that while not gaining Blockbuster status will ultimately enjoy a somewhat cult following. One thing is for sure, having seen this I immediately hopped online to order the original movie, and I’m sure countless others will to; for fans of the original this will be the must have purchase of the year. D13 is one of the most interesting action movies of the year, its just a shame that it never got a little more limelight while not being completely perfect it’s a most enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes.

Special Features:-

A 26 minute documentary looks at the creation of the movie, pulling in cast and crew to talk about incidents and their personal take on the movie.

A series of extended and deleted scenes are included, most of which are fight scenes.

There is music video from French rapper Alonzo that combines the movies main musical score with the performers own style, with some interesting cross language dialogue.

Finally there is a teaser and theatrical trailer to promote the movie.

Language options are French and English.

District 13: Ultimatum is released in the UK on DVD by Momentum on the 26^th of October

Taken

All the way back at the end of the 1980’s someone looked at the 35 year old Liam Neeson and decided that he would make the most excellent action hero. Next Of Kin, Darkman, Suspect, The Dead Pool, and Under Suspicion all went in the right direction to shape this career. But then it all went wrong, Neeson started appearing in romantic movies, comedies, and political dramas; the hard man image lost now allowing Neeson to progress as a credible actor. You could argue that this was a good idea, Schindlers List, Rob Roy, Michael Collins and Kinsey all gave the actor some considerable acclaim. Strangely though as the actor moves slowly towards his 60^th birthday someone has decided to return the action mantle to Neeson, and prepare for a bucket load of action blockbusters featuring the actor. Leading the way to towards this new re-incarnation of the actor is Taken a gripping action thriller with more guns and fights than a James Bond movie could ever aspire to.

Taken begins rather preposterously with the 17^th birthday of Kim (Maggie Grace near on ten years above that age), long distant father Bryan (Neeson) arrives to the party clutching a karaoke machine to help his daughter practise her love of singing. In the ultimate dick swinging contest however, Step Father Stuart (Xander Berkeley) produces a prize stallion as the birthday gift from him to Kim. With poor finances in place Bryan can only look on, while ex wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) looks cheerfully on at this brazen show of one upmanship. Bryan is soon given the chance to award his daughter the ultimate gift however, permission to travel to France for a summer of historical study. While he does not want to allow Kim this pleasure, he knows in the pit of his stomach that this will win him back into favour. Bryan takes no chances however giving Kim a state of the art phone to stay in touch with him. Arriving in France, Kim soon finds herself in trouble and the only person she can turn to is her father. As a group of armed men burst into the apartment she shares with her friend, Bryan can only give his daughter the best advice he can to get her help, but painfully he must listen on the telephone thousands of miles away as his daughter is taken.

Abducted, drugged and sold into the sex trade, nobody could have realised that Kim’s father was an ex secret agent, heading for France he is in no mood for discussion.

I’m absolutely mortified that I chose to delay watching Taken by nearly a month after receiving a preview disc, I had not heard of Taken and simply assumed this was some sort of low budget thriller that was not going anywhere. I could not have been more wrong, although for the most part in English this is really a major French movie, with in incredibly big budget.

There are so many thrillers out there that go nowhere, and have no real impact on your emotions. Taken pulls on your heartstrings from the offset, watching a relationship ruined through rivalry; then following with the abduction of a child, surely every parent’s worst fear. Both aspects are given such detail, making the story win you over from the offset. The fact that Kim has been taken to sell into the sex trade makes things worse, there are no pink soft shades in this movie, and it’s harsh, gritty and brutal. As the movie proceeds things get more and more uncomfortable as you are shown the lives of the girls sold in this very way.

Having emotionally won you over, and endeared you to a character that in fairness due to the casting of Neeson in that role a lot of people would find it difficult to warm too; the next of the movies offerings to address is the action. Looking at Taken you cannot help but realise that Neeson was sadly overlooked at some point as a suitable casting for James Bond. Carrying out many of the movies stunts himself, the fight sequences are incredibly well choreographed, think Bruce Willis in Die Hard with an Irish accent. While being the ultimate fighting warrior in the movie, with the ability to snap bones with a single slam; Neeson’s character is very much aware of his own mortality. Understanding that the character as well as the actor is getting on there are no large jumps in chase sequences, it’s all Neeson can do to give chase to be honest, when it comes to jumps the character of Bryan sums up the probability of failure and thinks “Sod it” before moving on to the next best option. Add to this that Bryan is not the usual bullet swallowing action hero, one shot and he knows he is “in a ditch”, instead manoeuvring his way through the movie with nothing more than a sore head and a few flesh wounds.

Where the movie falls down in my opinion is in the casting of the lovely Maggie Grace; best known as the sister from hell Shannon in the series Lost, the casting of the actress to play a seventeen year old is rather like me a man in my late thirties being cast as a schoolboy, and while I’m sure I’d look just grand in short trousers cap and school tie, it would not be what the viewing public would want to see. I can sort of understand the casting, because you need to find someone who after various drug related incidents would look older than their years, and by the end you forget her age; but at the beginning you cannot help but think “What!”

As Taken continues the storyline becomes more and more compelling, zig zagging around between tense storytelling, action, and very real horror; with some wonderful location shooting around Paris, and some great minor roles including an appearance from “Naughty Girl” Holly Valance, Taken movies into first place in my list of thrillers movies of 2008.

Taken is in UK cinemas from September 26^th.