At its best, though, this is witty, tense and bloody: a homage that Carpenter might appreciate.
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:160
Fresh:97
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.
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
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... 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]
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Maria Bello, Drea de Matteo
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Maria Bello, Drea de Matteo, John Leguizamo, Aisha Hinds, Gabriel Byrne, Brian Dennehy, Currie Graham
Director: Jean-Francois Richet
Director: Jean-Francois Richet
Screenwriter: James DeMonaco
Producer: Pascal Caucheteux, Jeffrey Silver, Stephane Sperry
Composer: Graham Revell
Studio: Focus Features
Reviews for Assault on Precinct 13
A dark, exciting and enjoyable action-thriller for adolescent boys of all ages.
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.
A fairly edgy thriller that's not too demanding, but thoroughly entertaining.
Richet introduces new twists and simmering character drama while avoiding pretensions to conserve the ferocity of the 1976 original.
Don't avoid the new Assault on Precinct 13 because it's a remake. There are plenty of other reasons.
2005's pluckily modernized and ferociously entertaining version has enough going for it that both [this film and the original] deserve independent recognition.
we learn two important lessons. One, that remakes fail, and badly, much more often than they succeed. Two, Laurence Fishburne can make even trash like this seem important
...excellent action, generally good performances, and one or two genuine plot surprises.
Breaks the first and only commandment of remakes: Thou shall at the very least do justice to the original, or thou shall not be made at all.
a film with as much tension as the original, but far more character-based drama and psychological depth
I'm still trying to recover from this action film's relentless suspense.
A gritty, violent journey that's about twice as good as you'd expect it to be.
Though Richet stretches believability near the end, action-movie fans should assault theaters for an entertaining stay at Precinct 13.
The violence eventually overwhelms the new film's ideas -- and that's something Hawks, and even Carpenter, never let their movies get away with.
Latest News for Assault on Precinct 13
May 14, 2007:
Maria Bello to Replace Rachel Weisz in "Mummy 3"
A few weeks back I expressed some skepticism that Universal would re-cast Rachel Weisz's "Mummy" role with a new actress. Looks like I was wrong. More...
May 17, 2005:
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Actress/screenwriter Julie Delpy ("Before Sunset") will make her debut behind the camera with "Bathory," in which she'll be re-joining frequent co-star Ethan... More...
January 31, 2005:
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January 29, 2005:
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