If you liked Ong Bak, you won't necessarily wet your pants over Banlieue 13, but you will leave the theatre with a big, sloppy grin on your face.

And as you ride your adrenaline rush out the door, you will exult to yourself: "Man, I just saw some amazing action sequences!"

Banlieue (District) 13 is the directorial debut of cinematographer Pierre Morel, who is with Luc Besson's crew (Besson produced and co-wrote the screenplay).

The stars are David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli.

Belle is noted for an extreme urban French sport known as parkour (free running), which involves getting from A to B in the straightest possible line, no matter what you have to go over or through.

In the film, Belle plays Leito, a do-gooder trapped in the urban hell of Banlieue (District) 13 (in a mirror of the Middle East, polite Parisian society has walled off the scum into anarchic free-fire zones). As such, he's the nemesis of Taha, the gangsta kingpin.

The first act involves Taha's men trying to capture Leito. Since I don't want to give too much away, suffice it to say that the audience broke into delighted applause a few times to pay tribute to Belle's creativity, athleticism and daring.

Raffaelli (known for a legendary fight scene with Jet Li in Kiss of the Dragon -- another Besson production) told the audience afterwards there was no wire work and no CGI.

Banlieue 13 is as real as action cinema gets.

Raffaelli plays the role of Damien, a lone-ranger undercover Paris detective who's equally adept with a gun or his fists and feet.

Leito and and him (inevitably?) pair up to retrieve a neutron bomb that's fallen into Taha's hands.

But that's as far down the plot road as I want to go or you need to get.

Belle and Raffaelli have fine onscreen chemistry together (important in what ultimately is a buddy movie). The bad guys have some wit and style, and Morel seems to have stopped them from descending into cartoonishness, a fate suffered by bad guys in many a Besson production.

Morel shows great instincts as an action director. Much like a great chef knows not to use too much cilantro, Morel uses just the right amount of gunfire and a perfect pinch of car chase to give this movie life.

If you require a perfect script, you won't have a good time there, but if you love great action films, put this on your must-see list.