District 13: Ultimatum

The loud, intense, and explosive action saga Banlieue 13: Ultimatum is a sequel to the 2004 European blockbuster {|Banlieue 13|}. This second installment was directed by {|Patrick Alessandrin|} but initially gestated from the vision of writer-producer {|Luc Besson|}, also responsible for scripting and producing the first go-round. Ultimatum unfurls three years after the original, in the slightly dystopian realm of suburban Paris, circa 2013. Ultra-violence now riddles that sphere -- to such a degree that cops have imposed a lockdown on the area, to little avail. Significantly, the neighborhood is also formally subdivided into ethnic enclaves, including Arabic, Asian, Caucasian, and African. As the tale opens, a crack team of rogue cops pulls off a police assassination inside of the district, prompting the police chief ({|Daniel Duval|}) to try to persuade the president ({|Philippe Torreton|}) to bulldoze the area and let the cops cash in on the turf's real estate value. In response, two of the said rogues, Damien ({|Cyril Raffaelli|}) and Leito ({|David Belle|}), hit the streets, guns blazing, and exude all of the force at their disposal to save the region from complete obliteration.