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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 date; UK critics are listed first)
Bubble View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
tomato

Daniel Etherington

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 09 2008 04:36 PM

Channel 4 Film

tomato

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 24 2006 04:27 AM

Time Out

tomato
3/5

Kim Newman

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 01 2006 04:28 AM

Empire Magazine

tomato
4/5

Matthew Turner

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: | comment Comment | Jan., 29 2005 10:20 PM

ViewLondon

tomato
4/5

Stella Papamichael

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 25 2005 10:15 PM

BBC

tomato
3.5/5

Rich Cline

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 23 2005 09:22 PM

Shadows on the Wall

N/R

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 29 2009 03:16 AM

Cinema Crazed

splat
C-

Cole Smithey

"Assault On Precinct 13" is a movie that tries to elaborately connect modern day police technology and methods to out-of-date aspects from John Carpenter's'70s era film. The result is that the audience is pulled from feeling like you're watching a blow-ou

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 18 2009 02:02 PM

ColeSmithey.com

tomato
3/5

Rob Gonsalves

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 23 2007 07:17 AM

eFilmCritic.com

splat

Lewis Beale

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 01 2007 03:55 AM

Film Journal International

splat
2.5/4

Garth Franklin

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 30 2006 03:19 AM

Dark Horizons

tomato
3.5/5

Joseph Proimakis

full review in Greek

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 03 2006 09:09 AM

Movies for the Masses

tomato
3/5

James Kendrick

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 18 2006 03:21 AM

Q Network Film Desk

splat
1.5/4

Kurt Loder

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 Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 07 2006 01:12 PM

MTV

splat
1/4

Chuck O'Leary

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 Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 28 2005 12:40 PM

Fantastica Daily

tomato
3.5/5

Pete Vonder Haar

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 06 2005 07:31 PM

Film Threat

tomato
3/5

Michael Szymanski

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 Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 28 2005 10:32 PM

Wordmag.com

tomato

Ken Tucker

Fishburne even manages to make crass violence witty.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 05 2005 06:42 PM

New York Magazine

tomato
6/10

Dragan Antulov

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 26 2005 05:27 AM

Draxblog Movie Reviews

tomato
B+

Bill Clark

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 15 2005 08:37 AM

FromTheBalcony

 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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all

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