Banlieue 13 - Ultimatum (2009)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Patrick Alessandrin

Writer:

Luc Besson (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 February 2009 (France)

Genre:

Action

Plot:

Damien and Leito return to District 13 on a mission to bring peace to the troubled sector that is controlled by five different gang bosses, before the city's secret services take drastic measures to solve the problem. |

Plot Keywords:

Digit In Title | Parkour | Second Part | Sequel | Number In Title

Cast

David Belle	...	Leïto
Cyril Raffaelli	...	Capt. Damien Tomaso
Philippe Torreton	...	Le président de la République
Daniel Duval	...	Walter Gassman
Elodie Yung	...	Tao
MC Jean Gab'1	...	Molko
Laouni Mouhid	...	Ali-K (as Laouni Mouhid dit la Fouine)
Fabrice Fletzinger	...	Little Montana (as Fabrice Feltzinger)
Pierre-Marie Mosconi	...	Roland
Sophie Ducasse	...	Sonya
Moussa Maaskri	...	L'homme de main de Roland
Patrick Steltzer	...	Le général
Jean-Gilles Barbier	...	Le commandant de police
Laurent Gérard	...	Maurice Bertome
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frans Boyer	...	Flic contrôle sanitaire
Frédéric Chau	...	Tran
Milan Ojdanic
Alaa Oumouzoune	...	Ali K's crew
Christian Sinniger	...	Le commandant
Dany Verissimo	...	Lola

Also Known As:

B13-u (France) (poster title)
Banlieue 13 Ultimatum (France) (working title)
District 13: Ultimatum (Europe: English title) (festival title)

Runtime:

France:101 min | Germany:95 min (European Film Market)

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | France:U | South Korea:15 | Japan:G | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Belgrade, Serbia

Company:

Europa Corp.

Movie Connections:

Follows Banlieue 13 (2004)

The B-13 Boys Are Back

Well, let me get it out of the way -- "Ultimatum" is not as fun or exciting as the first film. Fans looking for more of the amazing David Belle and the stunts of parkour will find these elements lacking in the sequel. B-13 had a simple plot and explosive action sequences that still hold up well today. New director this time around and the crisp compositions and editing of the original are replaced with more uses of the hand-held cam, to less successful results. If you liked the opening camera-work in B13 -- you get a lot more of it here as the camera swooshes around the blocks of District 13 introducing the major players in the film. Fortunatly, the chemistry of Belle and Raffaelli is still strong, but they just don't have enough to do together in this plot. Speaking of plot, I would dare say that this sequel has too much plot and side characters. Belle seems like a supporting player in his own film. Now to be fair, there are a couple of good sequences that spark the original vibe of B-13, but sadly, they are few and far between. I had high hopes going into this one, but was let down overall. Let's hope that for the third film (come on, there has to be one) that both Belle and Raffaelli are given the room to really top and go beyond what we've seen them do before.