Banlieue 13

Luc Besson is single-handedly reinventing the action genre, with several audience-pleasing, larger-than-life productions under his belt (including The Transporter and Kiss of the Dragon). This is despite the fact that Besson hasn’t helmed a film since 1999’s The Messenger, although the filmmaker seems to have an inordinate knack for picking suitable directors to helm his projects. This time around it’s Pierre Morel, a man who’s no stranger to the genre – having served as cinematographer on such films as Unleashed and The Transporter. Banlieue 13 tells the futuristic story of two men – a good-hearted criminal (David Belle) and a streetwise cop (Cyril Raffaelli) – who must infiltrate a walled city before a nuclear bomb goes off. Comparisons to Escape from New York are inevitable, although the similarities end with the basic premise. Banlieue 13 eschews Escape from New York‘s gritty, unsympathetic vibe in favor of a more sleek and fast-paced sensibility (no surprise there, given Morel’s background). Morel gets things moving almost right away with an amazing foot chase in which Belle leaps from building to building with shocking ease, and the film barely pauses for brief instances of exposition during the remainder of its appropriately short running time. As effective as Morel’s direction is, much of the film’s success must be attributed to the often jaw-dropping physical ability of both Belle and Raffaelli. The two display some seriously impressive feats of agility, and though they may not be master thespians, there’s no denying that these guys have what it takes to carry a contemporary action flick.

*** out of ****