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Infusing his wham-bang action films with rare Gallic depth, D13 writer/producer Luc Besson once brought a touch of France to Hollywood (take Léon, for example).

Like Crank by way of La Haine, this Patrick Alessandrin-directed sequel reunites David Belle (as free-running free-thinker Leïto) and Cyril Raffaelli (as top cop Damien) for more amphetamised stunt sequences spiked with slivers of social criticism.

Set in a Parisian ghetto that corrupt officials are eager to raze and redevelop, the film begins at a sprint.

A whizzy camera follows Leïto through the CG-augmented slumscape; then Damien survives an almighty smackdown in a booby-trapped strip club dressed as a woman (don’t ask).

When the pace slackens, Bad Boys-style buddy-buddy clichés sneak in, while the climax is disappointingly generic. In short, it feels like Besson has brought a touch of Hollywood to France.

Still, if the film falters when the boys are cracking wise, it’s great fun when they’re cracking bones.

Matt Glasby is a freelance film and TV journalist. You can find his work on Total Film - in print and online - as well as at publications like the Radio Times, Channel 4, DVD REview, Flicks, GQ, Hotdog, Little White Lies, and SFX, among others. He is also the author of several novels, including The Book of Horror: The Anatomy of Fear in Film and Britpop Cinema: From Trainspotting To This Is England.