As you may know, this website covers pretty much anything parkour. This sport boasts a vibrant—although still very young—culture that draws in many people worldwide. With a bit of instinct, discipline, and a lot of physical fitness, climbing walls and jumping across rather large distances is possible. Becoming a Traceur, is not like excelling at any other sport. It’s a lifestyle that knows no borders and, certainly, no obstacles.
It’s no wonder why the sport has impacted popular culture, especially in movies where you might be able to see your favorite heroes jumping from building to building as if gravity (and fear of heights) haven’t been invented yet. One thing is for certain: movies about parkour don’t have to be good as far as cinema is concerned. However, they contain breathtaking chases and other physical fits that will leave the spectator glued to his chair. Here’s a recap of the most famous movies about parkour and how to enjoy them in 2024.
Yamakasi, Luc Besson (2001)
We can trace the heydays of parkour in the early nighties to when a certain director named Luc Besson took a leap of faith and decided to film a French crew called the Yamakasi. Before being introduced to a worldwide audience, parkour was invented by David Belle in the 1980s and further spread by his followers and an early Parkour team called the Yamakasi.
Here’s the movie that helped launch the Parkour industry we see today, the first Parkour based film. Even if the scenario looks a little unrealistic, the Yamakasi movie has made a strong imprint on the sport by describing the life of a French crew that jumps from bridge to building, taking advantage of their district’s typical architecture. It was the first movie to revolve around parkour, and some scenes are still very memorable today.
District B13, David Belle (2004)
The story goes that when David Belle refused to be in the “Yamakasi” film, Luc Besson promised him a film to call his own. And from that birthed the second iconic Parkour film, the acting debut of the Parkour founder, and what is widely considered to be the best Parkour-inspired film of all time – District B13.
Taking it up a notch, Luc Besson wrote a script about a dystopian world where a citizen in the B13 neighborhood, Leito, played by David Belle, must help save his city from a being destroyed by a local drug lord. What ensues is a performance that is iconic as it is real and one that only David Belle could have done. It was reported that the stunt coordinated pleaded with Belle and crew to use safety nets and they refused. If you have any affinity for Parkour, this is the film to watch. It not only has a compelling story, it captures history and in many ways the origin of Parkour and its debut on the international stage.
This film broke box office records in France and was later remade as an American film called “Brick Mansions” starring Paul Walker.
Casino Royale (2006)
Casino Royale isn’t necessarily a movie about parkour. Indeed, it’s a must-see for every James Bond fan and probably for casino lovers. Even if gambling fans aren’t always visiting brick-and-mortar casinos and prefer to see the best casino sites here, the movie’s atmosphere takes us to Montenegro and other great landmarks of the world. The action in the movie can be entertaining for parkour lovers.
The movie features a very intense parkour chase where Agent 007 is climbing cranes and very dangerous heights to get a hold of another spy played by Sebastien Foucan. This scene is truly breathtaking and leaves the spectator in a state of constant vertigo. The fact that Daniel Craig did the stunt himself is even more remarkable, if not completely insane. Little did we know, it seems like Craig is afraid of heights, a well-known condition that didn’t stop him from performing one of the most dangerous stunts in recent cinematographic memory.
Ong Bak (2003)
There was a time when everybody and their mother genuinely thought they had found the new Bruce Lee. With a movie like Ong Bak, a Thai actress named Tony Jaa took the world by storm. There was an assumption that the actor could levitate while showcasing a vast array of other talents—Muay Thai fights, a high-speed chase scene, and even a sense of humor similar to Jackie Chan’s previous antics.
The most important scene of this action-packed movie is a parkour sequence in which the hero tries to escape an angry mob of gangsters. Tony Jaa steps on people’s shoulders as if they were vulgar concrete blocks. This is an entertaining movie and a breakthrough in the parkour scene. Years later, we didn’t forget the name Ong Bak and the fun we had watching the flick.
Assassin’s Creed (2016)
Assassin’s Creed was a pivotal moment in the video game industry. Players could control a character whose most prominent feat was to jump from church to building in a deep, rich historical setting. The game was an instant success for old-school gamers (we’re talking PS2 here – Time does fly). It was inevitable that they made a movie out of Assassin’s Creed games.
It’s not up to us to say if the movie was good. In fact, it seems like fans and critics alike were all but impressed by the movie’s mind-dumbing and overly complicated scenario. However, Assassin’s Creed is about a man who gets to jump from roof to roof, allowing the viewer to enjoy breathtaking landscapes and thrilling chase scenes. The movie accomplishes that brilliantly.
Special Mention: The Office, Season 6, Episode 1
The Office is arguably one of the most beloved shows in US history. It’s mainly because it embodies the ways of thinking of average American people, with their quirks and their vision of society. When the first episode of season 6 was released, it featured a hilarious opening scene where a few protagonists try their way into the joys of parkour, clumsily jumping from a dumpster bin to a cardboard box, mainly hurting themselves more and less seriously.
Of course, parkour is not represented fairly in this humorous sketch. However, it’s a brilliant homage to what people considered a fad in the early 2000s. Nowadays, parkour is way more established. It doesn’t mean that the discipline has lost its fun entirely!
