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Movies / On DVD / Assault on Precinct 13
Assault on Precinct 13

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Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)

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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

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Reviews for Assault on Precinct 13

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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At its best, though, this is witty, tense and bloody: a homage that Carpenter might appreciate.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
04/09/08
Daniel Etherington
Daniel Etherington
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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 Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
01/29/05
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

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

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
01/23/05
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

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

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
01/25/05
Stella Papamichael
Stella Papamichael
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Finally, a remake that isn't a total massacre.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/21/05
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
01/23/05
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
01/24/05
Boston Phoenix
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
05/13/05
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Don't avoid the new Assault on Precinct 13 because it's a remake. There are plenty of other reasons.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/19/05
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

2005's pluckily modernized and ferociously entertaining version has enough going for it that both [this film and the original] deserve independent recognition.

Full Review Source: Premiere Magazine | comment Comment
01/25/05
Aaron Hillis
Aaron Hillis
Premiere Magazine

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

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/14/05
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

...excellent action, generally good performances, and one or two genuine plot surprises.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
04/07/05
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

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.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/19/05
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post

a film with as much tension as the original, but far more character-based drama and psychological depth

Full Review Source: Movie Gazette | comment Comment
02/05/05
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Movie Gazette

I'm still trying to recover from this action film's relentless suspense.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/20/05
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

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

Full Review Source: FromTheBalcony | comment Comment
06/15/05
Bill Clark
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony

Though Richet stretches believability near the end, action-movie fans should assault theaters for an entertaining stay at Precinct 13.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
01/19/05
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic

The violence eventually overwhelms the new film's ideas -- and that's something Hawks, and even Carpenter, never let their movies get away with.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
01/19/05
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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