District 13: Ultimatum (Banlieue 13 - Ultimatum ) Review

Five years ago, the idea of a crime-ridden suburb of Paris being walled off behind heavily fortified barricades could be regarded as a fantastic conceit not a million miles from John Carpenter's Escape From New York. In the wake of the 2005 riots in France, though, the sequel to 2004 action picture District 13 takes on a surprising political significance, revolving as it does around a covert government scheme to level the titular ghetto to the ground and redevelop its valuable real estate with scant regard for the existing populace.

With its burnt-out cars, urban decay and graffiti-strewn tower blocks, the Banlieue 13 of Patrick Alessandrin's film could have been lifted wholesale from the aftermath of 2005's real-life civil unrest. Having been left to its own devices in the three years since District 13, though, the closed-off precinct has evolved into a self-sustaining community divided between the five ethnicities - black, white, Asian, Arab and Hispanic - who run its illicit activities.