The French get a bit of a hard time these days I think. We, the British Nation, hold certain grudges against them for not buying our beef, not doing well in any military campaign in their history and generally being a bit, well, French. But as easy as it may be to focus on their bad points, occasionally some very cool things come out of France; Jacques Villeneuve for instance, the Renault Espace F1 Race Car, the baguette, and even more occasionally, a really, really good film.

I've watched an awful lot of movies in my time, some have made me laugh. Some have made me cry, some have made me want to set fire to the director, but sometimes, and only sometimes because it doesn't happen often, a film makes my jaw drop within the first few seconds of it starting, and my jaw doesn't close until the credits roll. And even then I have to help it back into place with my hand. Some of the films that have caused this reaction in me have been Star Wars, Blade, Pulp Fiction, The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings. I've just added District 13 to that list. This has got to be one of the finest, most action packed but also well-rounded and well balanced movies I have ever seen. And it's French.

The story is set in Paris, in the year 2010. A wall has been built around one of its toughest suburbs, which now houses the city's most vicious criminal gangs. A man called Taha runs the show, a sinewy, merciless drug and gun dealer that will happily shoot his own men when they make mistakes. The opening scene of the movie sees his right hand man K2, a mammoth of a man, roll up in a modded car that would make most of the cars in The Fast and the Furious look like Volvo family saloons. He is looking for Leito (David Belle), a local hero who still lives on the right side of the law, even though the world is going to hell around him. It would seem Leito has stolen something from Taha and he wants it back. Dozens of thugs flood into the building, led by K2 who rampages through the hallways, grabbing anyone that can give him information on Leito's whereabouts and taking that information forcibly. When he eventually gets there, Leito is cutting up bags of drugs in his bath. He clearly isn't in this for the money, he's one of the world's last good guys, but he's hardly wet behind the ears. As K2 arrives at the door, we see, very clearly, that Leito is not a man to be messed with.

The film's major theme (other than gangsters, guns and violence) makes itself known now. Leito is a master at an upcoming French developed sport called Parkour, or FreeRunning as we know it in the UK. This sport is essentially the interaction with one's environment and finding different routes to your destination other than the usual pathways used to herd human beings. At the extreme level it means jumping off of buildings, running along walls, jumping through windows and all other kinds of madness. Imagine Bruce Lee meets Tony Jaa meets Jackie Chan meets Quentin Tarantino. Oh yes, this is going to be good.

Leito bursts through the door, knocking K2 and a couple of other lackeys to the ground and he then begins his mind bogglingly acrobatic escape from the building set to a thumping French techno soundtrack. The way he moves is just phenomenal, as guards that have been instructed to take him alive struggle to catch him. He leaps over walls, jumps out of windows to grab ropes and swing around the building, he sails down entire flights of stairs. It's almost as though the laws of gravity as we know them simply don't apply to him! He's not afraid to crack a few skulls either and a couple of the gang members meet some pretty unfortunate ends at his hand. Leito escapes and K2 and his cronies are forced to return empty handed. Taha, takes exception to this, and after murdering several of his 'useless' employees, K2 suggests that they kidnap Leito's sister so they can draw him out of hiding. This is probably their biggest mistake. She is brought in (and she's stunningly beautiful by the way, played by relative newcomer Dany Verissimo), and shows that she's just as full of spirit as her brother. While walking through the gang's barracks, one man asks if he can have her knickers, she gives him a wound up haymaker to the chin.

I won't give away too many plot points, because I really don't want to ruin one solitary bit of this movie for you. Usually I would drone on about how certain bits of the movie are great and that you should watch out for them, or that they should be the reason you watch the movie. Here, every single minute is worth watching the movie for. It's unrelenting, it's high octane, it's 200 mph and every other 'off the back of the box' cliché you can think of. The reason I use them is not tongue in check - it refers back to their original meaning, because this film really is just that good.

It's not all action and effects though - the script is so well written that you cannot help but sit in awe of every line of dialogue. I won't say this often, in fact I don't think I've ever said it, but the characterisation and dialogue are worthy of the great Tarantino himself. The second most important character of the movie is Captain Damien Tamaso. He's a cop and when you see the cops in this movie you instantly realise that he's going to be a double hard bastard. The cops are armed to the teeth just to keep the street gangs from taking control. Damien isn't just any cop though - he's their equivalent to James Bond and xXx combined and the first time we see him he's uncovering a gambling ring having been deep undercover with a mob boss for over six months. When he does so, everything kicks off and he gets into a serious fist/gun fight with about twenty guys. After kicking, shooting and 'off a balcony through a table pile-driving' the bad guys he emerges to trash the mob boss's car (just because he made him clean it whilst undercover). He's a great physical actor, played by Cyril Raffaelli, not best known for his acting roles, but he has been a primary stunt choreographer on films like Taxi 2 and The Transporter & Transporter 2. He's not just a pretty face though - he acts like a pro, like someone who's done it all his life.

The disk is jam packed with extras as well. Not only do you have the option of watching in French with English subtitles or an English dubbed version, you also get a load of trailers for this and other upcoming movies, a making of documentary, an extended scene, a load of outtakes and a documentary with Parkour visionary Stephane Vigroux. It's the perfect accompaniment, because once the film has finished you just want to see more. The only thing it's missing is a director/producer's commentary and with that I would have given the extras full marks.

So let's examine the elements of this movie shall we? We have a fantastically well written script from Luc Besson (who also produced the movie, and if you don't know who Luc Besson is then see Leon, The Fifth Element and La Femme Nikita to understand his credentials), we have great characters, we have a futuristic dystopia with a very threatening criminal element, we have a hot girl, we have a dark criminal overlord, we have two guys, both hard as nails, working together to fight a common enemy, we have one of the world's most electrifying and cinematic sports and some luscious looking cars. This film has everything. It's not for everyone, I'll tell you that for a fact right now, but for those who have been watching xXx, The Transporter and all these other high adrenaline movies and left the cinema feeling like they were sold short and these movies lacked soul then this is the film for you. It's quite simply brilliant - I've watched it three times in two days and I just don't do that. I've given this film 10 out of 10 and I don't usually do that either (unless it's Withnail & I of course). If only to make sure that more movies of this quality are made, please, I ask of you, go and buy this movie. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Reviewed by Jim Powell for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).