And Another

The Thirteenth Floor Exercise

I’m in no position to dis practical brevity – one entry on my to-blog-about scrap paper reads:

NotLD: O — b/w A.D. — n.b. NotLRD:Re-A

but D13-U has to be one of the least compelling promotional abbreviations since ID4 (which was only meant to be a placeholder while Fox negotiated for the rights to the title Independence Day, held by Warner Brothers at the time).

Technically this is of course District 13: Ultimatum (originally Banlieu 13: Ultimatum, but B13-U sounds even more like a vitamin compound), sequel to 2004’s District 13, a light-on-plot excuse to showcase parkour wizardry, with which writer-producer Luc Besson had been preoccupied since at least 2000.

Patrick Alessandrin takes over as director; Besson returns as writer and producer. Pierre Morel, who helmed the first, has moved on to larger projects after Taken was a surprise hit; his From Paris With Love dropped this weekend. Cyril Raffaelli and parkour founder David Belle reprise the lead roles.

If you’re not any more fond of the title than I am, you might check out the German version instead, where D13-U would be GG2U, the sequel to Ghetto Gangz – Hell Comes To Paris.