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MOVIES / ON DVD / ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13
Assault on Precinct 13

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Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)

61%
90%
65%
N/A
N/A
N/A
61 %
Reviews Counted: 162 Fresh: 99  Rotten:63 Average Rating: 5.9/10
 
Consensus: This remake has been praised by some as an expertly made B-movie, and dismissed by others as formulaic.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins

Synopsis: To survive the night, cops and criminals alike will have to unite and fight. A classic head-to-head showdown ignites in Assault on Precinct 13, an all-new update of the 1976 action thriller of the same name. With only a few hours left in the calendar year, Precinct 13, one of Detroit's... To survive the night, cops and criminals alike will have to unite and fight. A classic head-to-head showdown ignites in Assault on Precinct 13, an all-new update of the 1976 action thriller of the same name. With only a few hours left in the calendar year, Precinct 13, one of Detroit's oldest precinct houses, is closing. Amid heavy snowfall and unsafe road conditions, only a few lawmen remain on duty for New Year's Eve. They are headed by Sergeant Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke), a good cop wrestling with bad memories of a fatal undercover op from the previous spring. Roenick and Precinct 13 have both seen better days. Early on December 31st, deep in the city, formidable crime lord Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne), is cornered by an undercover cop. Their ensuing struggle leaves the cop dead - and Bishop captured, by the Organized Crime and Racketeering squad that Marcus Duvall (Gabriel Byrne) runs. Bishop is handcuffed and herded onto a prison bus with several criminals: junkie Beck (John Leguizamo), hustler Smiley (Jeffrey "Ja Rule" Atkins), and gang member Anna (Aisha Hinds). But the battering snowstorm stops the bus well short of its high-security destination and strands it at the remote Precinct 13 - where, as night falls, the prisoners are temporarily incarcerated. This influx of prisoners irks Roenick, almost as much as visiting police psychologist Alex Sabian (Maria Bello) does. But Precinct 13's provocative secretary Iris Ferry (Drea de Matteo) and salty veteran cop Jasper "Old School" O'Shea (Brian Dennehy) won't let the increasing workload deter them from celebrating... ...until two masked gunmen break in and attack the guards from the bus. The gunmen are just barely beaten back, and everyone inside Precinct 13 realizes that more will come - to extract crime lord Bishop, but also armed and ready to shoot anyone and everyone else. The cops, looking to the reluctant Roenick for leadership, and the cons, looking to the steely Bishop for an angle, must join forces to live. Fortifying themselves with minimal weaponry and maximum courage, they will not go gently into the bad night. As they fight to the death, the thin lines between good and bad bleed together. Rogue Pictures presents A Why Not/Liaison Films/Biscayne Pictures Production. Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne. Assault on Precinct 13. John Leguizamo, Maria Bello, Jeffrey "Ja Rule" Atkins, Drea de Matteo, Matt Craven. With Brian Dennehy and Gabriel Byrne. Visual Effects Supervisor, Dennis Berardi. Casting by Billy Hopkins, Suzanne Smith, Kerry Barden. Costume Designers, Vicki Graef, Georgina Yarhi. Music Supervisor, John Houlihan. Music by Graeme Revell. Editor, Bill Pankow, A.C.E. Production Designer, Paul Denham Austerberry. Director of Photography, Robert Gantz. Co-Producer, James DeMonaco. Executive Producers, Don Carmody, Sebastien Kurt Lemercier, Joseph Kaufman. Produced by Pascal Caucheteux, Stephane Sperry, Jeffrey Silver. Based on the film written by John Carpenter. Screenplay by James DeMonaco. Directed by Jean-Francois Richet. A Rogue Pictures Release. -- © Rogue Pictures [More]

Genre: Action/Adventure

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Maria Bello, Drea de Matteo, John Leguizamo

Director: Jean-Francois Richet
Screenwriter: James DeMonaco
Producer: Pascal Caucheteux, Jeffrey Silver, Stephane Sperry
Composer: Graham Revell

DVD Info

Release:

Aug 8, 2006

[DVD Details]

HD-DVD Features:

  • Red HD Case
  • Widescreen - 2.40

Audio:

  • DTS 5.1 Surround Sound - English
  • Dolby Digital Surround Sound Plus 5.1 - English, French, Spanish
  • Subtitles - English SDH, French, Spanish - Optional

Addtional Release Material (Includes):

  • Commentaries - 1. Jean-Francois Richet - Director, James DeMonaco - Screenwriter, Jeffrey Silver - Producer
  • Featurettes - 1. "Armed and Dangerous - Assault Weapons Specialist Reveals How He Matched Gun to Character for the Film's Explosive Shootout Sequences"
  • 2. "Behind Precinct Walls - How the Precinct Building was Constructed, From Concept to Computer to Screen"
  • 3. "Plan of Attack - ASSAULT's Stunt Coordinator Reveals the Planning Behind Some of the Film's Most Explosive Stunts"
  • 4. "Explosive Deleted Scenes"

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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Ratings Image
N/A

A dark, exciting and enjoyable action-thriller for adolescent boys of all ages.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/09/08
Daniel Etherington
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
N/A

At its best, though, this is witty, tense and bloody: a homage that Carpenter might appreciate.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3/5

A smart script, edgy acting and a gradual accumulation of suspense set-pieces makes for a decent popcorn high.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/01/06
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
4/5

Richet confidently treats the majority of the film as one long suspense sequence, punctuating the tension every so often with short bursts of action that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/29/05
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
Ratings Image
4/5

Richet introduces new twists and simmering character drama while avoiding pretensions to conserve the ferocity of the 1976 original.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/25/05
Stella Papamichael
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3.5/5

A fairly edgy thriller that's not too demanding, but thoroughly entertaining.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/23/05
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image
3/5

It's neither graceful nor disgraceful; it just functions and then is over.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/23/07
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image
N/A

An over-the-top shootout replete with foul language, gruesome killings and unnecessary subplots.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/01/07
Lewis Beale
Film Journal International
Ratings Image
2.5/4

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
10/30/06
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Ratings Image
3.5/5

full review in Greek

Full Review | comment Comment
10/03/06
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses
Ratings Image
3/5

In its middle section, Assault on Precinct 13 manages to build up an impressive head of steam.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/18/06
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
Ratings Image
1.5/4

The central problem with this [film] is its essential uselessness. It does its job, I guess. But the job was already done a lot better a long time ago.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/07/06
Kurt Loder
MTV
Ratings Image
1/4

An idiotic remake of John Carpenter's crackerjack B thriller from 1976. Panders to the lowest common denominator by changing the original's street-gang villains to white cops.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/28/05
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily
Ratings Image
3.5/5

A nifty little action movie, and well worth a look.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/06/05
Pete Vonder Haar
Film Threat
Ratings Image
N/A

The film dabbles in themes of honor, trust, and self-sacrifice, but really it’s just a machine built for suspense and excitement, and on those terms it’s successful.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/16/05
Jeremy C. Fox
Pajiba
Ratings Image
3/5

With only a few hours left in the calendar year, Precinct 13, one of Detroit's oldest precinct houses, is closing. You'll want to be there...

Full Review | comment Comment
08/28/05
Michael Szymanski
Wordmag.com
Ratings Image
N/A

Fishburne even manages to make crass violence witty.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/05/05
Ken Tucker
New York Magazine
Ratings Image
6/10

Richet's film provides more than enough entertainment in its 109 minutes

Full Review | comment Comment
06/26/05
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews
Ratings Image
B+

A gritty, violent journey that's about twice as good as you'd expect it to be.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/15/05
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony
Ratings Image
N/A

It's good for a silly laugh, this stuff. And maybe this movie will draw renewed attention to Carpenter's eminently better movie.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/20/05
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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