District 13: Ultimatum

Directed by: Patrick Alessandrin
Written by: Luc Besson
Full credits at IMDb

D13:U opens three years after its ultimatum-less predecessor left off. "The government has changed," a title card imparts. "But nothing else." Right: Damien (Cyril Raffaelli) and Leito (David Belle) again must unite to defeat a nefarious government plot to bomb the titular ghetto. But much else, in fact, is different: the impoverished denizens of the walled-in slum, now self-segregated by ethnicity, have more face tattoos; there's more slo-mo, more awesomeness-reinforcing replays of the ante-upped action, more unwinding with sexy hos. In short, another man is sitting in the director's chair.

Pierre Morel helmed the rip-roaring first-entry in this Franco franchise-to-be, but has since gone on to collect paychecks in American dollars; screenwriter-producer Luc Besson, the Apatow of Gallic action, appointed Patrick Alessandrin to take over, and the new director, usually successfully, mostly mimics Morel—except the action editing isn't as precise, the storytelling not as taut...

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