Sunday
May102009
Just Watched District B13
Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 3:49PM
I was going to watch The Day the Earth Caught Fire on DVD, but then my player froze up just a few minutes into it, so I started browsing the queue on my Roku for something else.
I decided on District B13, which I didn't remember adding, but it turned out to be a good choice. It's not post-apocalyptic, but it could considered vaguely dystopian as it takes place in a near-future Paris where the most dangerous neighborhoods have been walled off, and the citizens inside left to fend for themselves.
The story is basically a re-telling of Escape from New York, with a goodly portion of Jackie Chan buddy-movie action thrown in. It was written by Luc Besson (who you'll remember from The Professional, Fifth Element, La Femme Nikita, The Transporter, etc.) A cop and a resident of B13 have to go in and disarm a nutron bomb before the timer expires and it explodes. The two actors are a former stuntman and one of the guys who invented the sport of parkour (which then spawned freerunning) so it's full of martial arts, great stunts, and major chases up, around and through the city.
Overall, it was really good. The plot was full of holes, but that wasn't the point; the action was good, and the interplay between the two main characters made for a very enjoyable movie. I just did a quick search and was pleased to see that a sequel just came out in France so will probably be on Netflix later this year.
If you've got a Roku or some other way to watch Netflix streaming, and don't mind sub-titles, this one is very worthwhile.
I decided on District B13, which I didn't remember adding, but it turned out to be a good choice. It's not post-apocalyptic, but it could considered vaguely dystopian as it takes place in a near-future Paris where the most dangerous neighborhoods have been walled off, and the citizens inside left to fend for themselves.
The story is basically a re-telling of Escape from New York, with a goodly portion of Jackie Chan buddy-movie action thrown in. It was written by Luc Besson (who you'll remember from The Professional, Fifth Element, La Femme Nikita, The Transporter, etc.) A cop and a resident of B13 have to go in and disarm a nutron bomb before the timer expires and it explodes. The two actors are a former stuntman and one of the guys who invented the sport of parkour (which then spawned freerunning) so it's full of martial arts, great stunts, and major chases up, around and through the city.
Overall, it was really good. The plot was full of holes, but that wasn't the point; the action was good, and the interplay between the two main characters made for a very enjoyable movie. I just did a quick search and was pleased to see that a sequel just came out in France so will probably be on Netflix later this year.
If you've got a Roku or some other way to watch Netflix streaming, and don't mind sub-titles, this one is very worthwhile.
in Posts
Posts
Reader Comments