District B13 (DVD)
APPROX. 84 MINS. - PROD. YEAR: 2004 - MPA RATING: R
" The story is pretty much incidental since the real meat of the picture comes from the wild stunts and breath-taking fight scenes.
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Belle performs some amazing stunts, but Raffaelli is no slouch. Some of you might remember him as one of blond brothers, the short one, that Jet Li fought in "Kiss of the Dragon." Raffaelli is a former circus acrobat and martial arts champion, as such he equates himself quite nicely in this film. Both Belle and Raffaelli, also, had a hand in creating many of the stunts and fight scenes. Unlike many of their American counterparts, the French filmmakers here know how to shoot and edit these scenes. They don't rely on close-ups nor do they overly edit them to the point where you can't even tell what's happening. I actually enjoy being able to see what's going on in my fight scenes. The best sequence sees Raffaelli battle a host of bad guys on the floor of a grungy casino. He busts out all kinds of mid-air spins, backflips, and one mean dropkick. The scene does come at about thirty minutes into the film, so it's a bit hard to top.
VIDEO:
The video is presented in anamorphic widescreen with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The film has an intentional washed out look, but all-in-all this is a quality transfer. The picture comes in bright and vibrant without any noticeable flaws.
AUDIO:
The audio is presented in the original French language as well as a dubbed English track. Both are available in Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. All the gunfire, explosions, and blows come in booming.
EXTRAS:
The main extra is The Making of District B13, a behind-the-scenes featurette that runs approximately 50 minutes. It includes making-of footage and interviews with the actors as they discussed how they came onto the project, and shooting the film. The best stuff is footage of the actors training and rehearsing all the stunts.
There's also a montage of outtakes and an extended version of the casino fight. Plus, trailers for other Magnolia releases.
FILM VALUE:
Sure, the story is paper thin and it's all just an excuse to string together a series of action set pieces. But, I was more than willing to let that testosterone-fueled, little kid inside me to take over and watch these guys blow stuff up and crack some skulls. One of my only problems with the film was that there wasn't enough action. Perhaps, I've been spoiled by the Hong Kong films I love so much. There definitely could have been more action scenes and what they did have could have been longer. "District B13" is certainly worth a look for action junkies, but a little more bang for your buck would have made it a definite recommend.
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