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The typical Besson/Morel hallmarks are stamped onto District-B13 like a biker tattoo, and the movie is all the better for it. The action is brisk, the characters are colorful and amusing, and you’re rarely in any doubt about who is going to live, who is going to die, and how it is going to end. Morel is likely to finish his career without an Oscar, but he excels at presenting motion on screen and his skills as an action cinematographer (see: The Transporter) give him a good eye for knowing what belongs in a shot – no more, no less.

Luc Besson writes and produces more often than he directs, and his knack for turning puerile, adolescent action fantasies into crowd pleasing romps is in top form here. The story at times feels a bit like you’re watching Escape From New York: The French Connection, but if we can forgive The Fifth Element for feeling like an extended sketch from Heavy Metal, it should be possible to remain merciful here as well. Besides, Escape From New York clocks in at ten minutes longer than this film, yet contains 60% less action and two thirds less fun. Yet there’s one glaring deficiency that keeps me from placing B13 among Besson’s best storytelling. While his obsession with social paranoia, implausible escapes and ten-ton plot contrivances is alive and well, this film lacks the surprising poignancy of La Femme Nikita and The Professional. Its closest kin is The Transporter, which is also as thin and flaky as a croissant - but just like its cousin, at a well paced 90 minutes, District B13 has no intention of overstaying its welcome. It is lively, cheeky fun that doesn’t take itself seriously enough to be offensive and is over with long before you have a chance to get tired of it. In fact, it hems to the most basic rule of entertainment: always leave the audience wanting more.

I guess it is worth repeating that there is, in the strictest sense, a tiny bit more substance to B13 than you might think. It attempts – quite feebly - to ruminate on the current state of French egalitarianism, and it could be suggested that given the humanist underpinnings of parkour, its inclusion here is more than just a matter of visual flair. But much like the delicious pastry I mentioned a moment ago, it’s all mostly air. This is first and foremost an action film, and I suggest you just enjoy the taste and forget what might be happening to your intellectual arteries. District B13 is fast, funny, and very visually stimulating. Simply put, it’s just a hell of a lot of fun. And just as when it starts, you won’t be expecting much, at the end you’ll most likely find yourself smiling. Even if you don’t enjoy this movie I doubt you’ll hate yourself for having seen it and if you do like it, you’ll immediately want to watch it again. This is a film that for the most part not only meets and exceeds its own goals, but also the expectations of its audience. In my world, that’s probably the best gift any movie can give.

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