The pariahs of Paris

District 13 is in Paris. It is a pariah estate, so out of control that the authorities have built a wall around it and withdrawn all police posts. But still there's trouble.

So a Right-wing politician decides to drop a neutron bomb on it - well, it's one way of solving the problem. He doesn't, of course, take into account good cop Damien (Cyril Raffaelli) who, aided by local inhabitant Leïto (David Belle), races to defuse the bomb and expose the politician.

The film, directed by Pierre Morel for producer and co-writer Luc Besson, is the first French version of chop-socky I've seen, with Raffaelli, in particular, performing so many improbable stunts that even Jet Li, whom he once understudied, would be amazed.

Naturally there's no script to speak of. It's just handsome goodies versus ugly baddies in enjoyably spectacular, fast-paced nonsense.

District 13
Cert: 15