'District 13: Ultimatum': a sequel with real kick

Action-flick junkies in the U.S. should be worshipfully grateful to the French purveyors of the form, most notably grand master Luc Besson. The writer, producer and director has left his imprimatur in one way or another on all manner of international movie mayhem, including the "Transporter" series; Liam Neeson's recent showcase, "Taken"; the John Travolta vehicle "From Paris With Love" (see review below); the original installment of "District 13" from 2004; and now the giddily gonzo sequel "District 13: Ultimatum."

Besson's protégé Patrick Alessandrin takes the reigns on "Ultimatum" from director Pierre Morel (who also helmed "Taken" and "From Paris"), but as with the conception of all those other movies, Besson is the brain behind it all.

Besson's philosophy of breakneck action and spectacular set pieces guides the brilliant blend of physical stunts and cartoon conception of a walled-in slum on the fringes of a near-future Paris. Multiethnic warlords trade in drugs, weapons and the wretched humanity of its citizens — and the cops don't give a toss about any of it. In fact, the authorities do their darnedest to get the crumbling district (or banlieue) nuked off the map.

Equivalent elements are in place in "Ultimatum," with the decaying concrete buildings of District 13 just a stage for an outrageous visual style, Gallic bass beats, some radical social commentary and astounding athletic feats of martial arts and the nimble dexterity that is parkour. The world's primary practitioner of this gravity-defying urban dance that incorporates tumbling, climbing, bouncing, scrambling and leaping tall buildings in single bounds is David Belle, who returns as Leito, the good guy on the wrong side of the law. He is reteamed with Captain Damian Tomaso (Cyril Raffaelli), who's not only the lone honest cop in Paris, he's also a virtuoso stuntman and martial artist so agile he can make a deadly weapon out of a priceless Van Gogh painting.

The plot involves a corrupt police official (Daniel Duval) who's in cahoots with an evil corporate behemoth called Harriburton (nice touch) that wants to demolish the banlieue to make way for high-end real-estate development. It's up to Leito and Damian to foil the scheme, relying solely on their wit, grit and physical ingenuity. But the conspiracy is secondary to the magnificently choreographed maneuvers of swinging, punching, flipping, jumping and kicking that prove you don't always need computers to produce truly remarkable special effects.

Ted Fry: tedfry@hotmail.com