Oh $#!t, did that guy just jump through a...

Banlieue 13 is enjoyable, just like Yamakasi, (another Luc Besson produced movie) is enjoyable. If you enjoyed Yamakasi you will probably enjoy this one a lot more. This is a stylish French action movie if I ever saw one, and kinda goes like the French version of Ong Bak. Heck, the people who made this film probably saw Ong Bak (I'm certain at least Luc Besson did) and said "Holy $#!t, did that guy just jump over a ****ing SEDAN and hit a guy in the head with his ELBOWS!?" and then made a smooth comeback by saying "Hey, we can do that too."
The plot is paper thin, but that really isn't the point. It's the future and areas with rampant crime are being sealed off. Banlieue 13 is such a place. Things have gotten so rough even the police are abandoning the area. A cop (Cyril Raffaelli, who had a villain's role in the Jet Li movie Kiss of the Dragon) is tasked to go to the area to prevent a neutron bomb from killing everyone. Of course, he won't get through the area without a guide, and Leito (David Belle, who had a few bit parts in the Palestinian Movie Divine intervention and Brian de Palma's Femme Fatale) is just the man for the job. He has a bit of a past with the man who has the bomb, so naturally he's eager to kick some ass.

And action ensues. The action is stylish. Mix Ong Bak (without the muay thai) with Yamakasi and you basically have it. Climbing buildings without support, kicking people's asses, jumping from building to building, that's what it's all about. The two lead actors kick ass in their respective scenes, but the scenes at the first 50 or so minutes are better and more numerous than the scenes in the rest of the film. That's okay, since the movie is only 85 minutes long, but it does affect the flow of the story.

Soundtrack: synth and some French rap. French rap, mmmm! Aristocratic. The camerawork is kinetic and serves the action well, which is all it needs to do.

This is by no means a thought-provoking action movie that transcends our minds, blah, blah, blah. It's merely a fun way to spend 85 minutes of your time with great action and death-defying stunts - like I said, just like Yamakasi. Believe me, if you're like yours truly, you'll spend many a time saying the words of the title of this post, stupefied and entertained.