A dark, exciting and enjoyable action-thriller for adolescent boys of all ages.
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)
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
Screenwriter: James DeMonaco
Producer: Pascal Caucheteux, Jeffrey Silver, Stephane Sperry
Composer: Graham Revell
DVD Info
Release:
Aug 8, 2006
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
At its best, though, this is witty, tense and bloody: a homage that Carpenter might appreciate.
A smart script, edgy acting and a gradual accumulation of suspense set-pieces makes for a decent popcorn high.
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.
Richet introduces new twists and simmering character drama while avoiding pretensions to conserve the ferocity of the 1976 original.
A fairly edgy thriller that's not too demanding, but thoroughly entertaining.
It's neither graceful nor disgraceful; it just functions and then is over.
An over-the-top shootout replete with foul language, gruesome killings and unnecessary subplots.
In its middle section, Assault on Precinct 13 manages to build up an impressive head of steam.
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.
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.
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.
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...
Richet's film provides more than enough entertainment in its 109 minutes
A gritty, violent journey that's about twice as good as you'd expect it to be.
It's good for a silly laugh, this stuff. And maybe this movie will draw renewed attention to Carpenter's eminently better movie.
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