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The year is 2013. Parisian society is facing a total meltdown. Its streets are awash with drug-dealing bad boys, gun-toting maniacs and hookers that render darkest Soho a bourgeois promenade by comparison. It has been carved up into zones through the erection of giant Berlin-esque walls, creating heaving pockets of un-checked crime. Yes, the authorities are having a terrible time of it; and to make matters worse, a nuclear warhead has been hijacked by Taha, the city's most notorious drug lord. Enter streetwise Leito, a righteous resident of this decaying slum, and cop-on-the-edge Damien, two men thrown together by the seemingly concerned government to be dealt the task of finding and disarming the bomb.

District 13 is Pierre Morel's directorial debut. Having worked alongside Luc Besson (District 13's producer, conceiver, and co-scribe) in the capacity of camera-operator and Director of Photography on productions such as Taxi 2 and The Transporter respectively, he was invited to flex his directorial aspirations by the aforementioned producer, and the result is an interesting mix of utter tripe and absolute genius.

The time lapsed between the film's conception and wrap of post-production took just ten months. And it shows. Not only does Morel appear to lack the ability to shape an actor's performance, he actually seems totally disinterested in even attempting to. Without exception his characters are flat, generic and dull. A loose attempt at a side-narrative is offered in the form of Lola, Leito's sister, with Taha kidnapping her before proceeding to drug her up to the eyeballs, but this falls way short of the mark and only serves to draw attention to the incredible lack of depth this film contains. The script is chock full of gaping holes left wide open for deep exploration, so blatantly ignored it's embarrassing (When did Leito dig that tunnel? And why? Why!?!). To top it all off, just when an opportunity for emotional impact presents itself, it's swallowed up by a pounding Techno beat or ill-timed gag. As far as dialogue, themes and character arcs are concerned, all areas which, had they had the least bit of attention directed at them, might have added something here, albeit slight, District 13 is an absolute turkey. In fact, this paragraph has far exceeded the attention these areas are due.

Put all this aside, though, and you have yourself one raging beast of an action flick. What holes exist in Morel's directorial abilities are promptly filled by his experience in other areas. He squeezes us into uncomfortable positions with quirky camera angles, using our points of view to draw us into the fights. Filming at 150 frames per second instead of the standard 24, every minute detail of the action is captured with precision. Each chase or fight scene, it simply alternates between the two for 90 minutes, is filled with such lighting cuts and near misses, sliced together at a rampant, unforgiving rhythm, that it's hard not to find yourself dipping your head or shifting in your seat involuntarily.

Characterized lazily, District 13 can be described as Escape From New York meets Ong-bak. And meshing together these two films certain encapsulates much of it. But there is more. The key to its originality, its freshness and so its worthiness, lies in the backgrounds and abilities of its stars, who co-choreographed every ounce of action packed in. David Belle (Leito) was a pioneer of Le Parcours, otherwise known as Free Running, 'a philosophy of action-based movement in an urban environment'. Or: scaling up, leaping down and hurtling across rooftops like a bald Sonic Hedgehog. Spurning the safety provided by harnesses and nets, it's nothing short of gob-smacking to watch. Cryil Raffaelli (Damien), Frances 1998 Chinese Boxing Champion, trained with the Annie Fratellini Circus School before moving into film as a stuntman and fight coordinator on pictures including Ronin and Brotherhood Of The Wolf. And it's from the raw energy and precision athletics found in both these backgrounds that District 13 draws its strength. There are moments, and here an early scene involving the skylight above a locked door springs to mind, when it's genuinely hard to be certain your witnessed something real. Considering the film is 90% free of nets, safety harness and computer effects (so boasts the production notes), many set-pieces herein defy belief. It may well have the raw realism of Ong-bak, but there are feats achieved here that go far beyond that offered by the latter. If you want to see the most admirable popcorn-muncher there's been in many a year, look no further.