jonduna The movie had a good plot : what can we do to save a life without being an outlaw? In the movie, basically it's said that either you are rich and live or you are poor and you have to steal to survive. 2h of pursuit between the group of self-called "yamakasi" (the good ones who act illegally sometimes) and the police (the bad ones who act legally most of the time). The dichotomy is unfortunately not more subtle. The battle between the robbers and the police. Nothing new. I found that the major problem of that movie, or rather the main reason why I feel I've just wasted 2hours of my time, is that it raises more questions (not difficult ones...) than it gives answers - not in a philosophical attempt to make people think. When a hero saves a child, I like the hero to be likable, and the characters in the movie are complete jerks (the yamakasi and the police alike). The thing is although I have nothing against a movie which expose how our whole system is badly made and how stupid the police is, I find irritating when a group behaves violently and think they're cool (the movie is made so that the youth in France think well of the yamakasi characters although they act violently). More importantly maybe, they had the chance to offer a new look on Paris ghettos (the movie takes place in Paris, I'm from Paris myself and the characters are from the well-known little ghettos here) and it was just a lot of "clichés", so there again nothing new.The movie could have been much more than what it simply is : an okay action movie. Don't expect anything else. Oh, as far as the movie as an art, there are a few enjoyable and well-filmed scenes, especially since the main actors are very good sportsmen and practice "parkour".

P.S. Paaskynen Many of my fellow commentators who were overly critical of Yamakasi miss the point of the film (and in some cases some important details of the plot). The motivation behind this film was to showcase free running/parkour as a new action style Besson had already used similar stunts in Taxi 2 and later developed the idea into the quite palatable action flick Banlieue 13 (District 13B). The story of the film is merely a framework around which the stunt sequences could be moulded. However, it is important to understand some plot points: - The French Police do, unfortunately, have a reputation for being racist. - Parkour is a sub-culture born in the poor suburbs, so the runners are likely to have negative feelings towards the authorities. If they had been depicted as goodie-two-shoes, the story would be unrealistic and the rebellious free runners most likely would not have participated. - French society is elitist and arrogance of the ones on top towards those at the bottom is not unheard of. - The little boy had a heart condition and the exertion of climbing the tree caused a cardiac crisis that made a transplantation the only option to save him. - Trade in human organs is highly illegal in Europe, the doctor is suspect for suggesting it (using these channels could cost him his job, so probably he will get a fat commission out of the deal, or he wouldn't risk it). His callous behaviour brands him as one of the bad guys. - The people robbed by the yamakasi run the illegal organ trade behind the facade of a charity, so basically the yamakasi are stealing from the criminals, so that they can pay them for the illegal donor heart. Thus, in their view, nobody loses except they themselves for risking arrest. - Non Hollywood films often do not explain the blatantly obvious.

Ian Bourne I dunno who the Dutch guy was that thought the movie had no plot... I read Spanish sub-titles from the French dialogues, and I understood plenty! Djamel is a little boy who needs a new heart, he wore his own li'l heart out even further trying to do acrobatics like the Yamakasi, they felt guilty and robbed the shareholders of a supposed charity that was to help people like him get new organs.The crooked doctor told Djamel's sister at the beginning of the film that it'll cost 400-thousand francs for the operation, so they get the money (mainly from a Klimt painting) and were told the operation is a further 100-thousand? The doc was a crook trying to jook up a li'l commission for himself! The Arabic inspector did the right thing in forcing the fraud's hand, he faced enough in dealing with a two-faced Government Minister in trying to save the same li'l Djamel...The acrobatics were a marvel of split second timing - whether to get away from the Dobermans or to save Djamel's mother from committing suicide! I am sure I have seen these guys in a Nike commercial, too...

mihakovac OK, so I'm a fan of Luc Besson.So when his name popped up in my TV guide, I was trilled. I got my popcorn ready, reserved the best seat in the house and had a VHS tape ready to record the movie. I was set to go.Then is started.Started quite good, I had a good feeling, but then it just got worse. And for worse, I mean, it sucked. I stopped the tape 20 min into the movie. I stopped watching about 1h into the movie. I just couldn't handle it anymore.The whole story, the acting, the dialog was so amazingly stupid, unrealistic and on a 10 year old level, I was really surprised (and worried as well) that Besson had ANYTHING to do with it. Without a doubt, I could make a better movie. Anyone could.I'll give it a 2 out of 10, just cos.. I don't know really. Deserves a 1 anyhow. One of the worse I've seen for a long time.