Assault on Precinct 13

Plot synopsis:
On New Years Eve, Detroit's oldest police station, Precinct 13, is about to close forever. Only a skeleton crew of officers are on duty for New Year's Eve, including Sergeant Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke), veteran officer Jasper (Brian Dennehy), secretary Iris (Drea de Matteo), and psychiatrist Alex (Maria Bello). Roenick is haunted by a botched undercover operation from eight months before that resulted in the death of the other two members of his team.Meanwhile, crime lord Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne) is arrested after a confrontation results in the death of an undercover officer. Bishop is put on a prison bus with three other criminals: meth addict Beck (John Leguizamo), petty crook Anna (Aisha Hinds), and counterfeiter Smiley (Ja Rule). A raging snowstorm and treacherous road conditions force the bus driver to make a detour to Precinct 13, where the prisoners are to be held until the storm is over.New Year's celebrations at the precinct are soon cut short, however, as an intrusion by two masked gunmen results in the death of one of the prison guards, and fatally injures the other. The officers soon find they are surrounded by unknown assailants, preparing to lay siege to the precinct. The electricity in the station then goes off and all the land-line phone lines are cut. Cellular phone reception has also been jammed, as well as any radio communication. After one of the attackers throws a brick into the precinct with "Bishop" written on it, Jasper claims they are Bishop's men, here to extract him.This is proven to be false, however, after Roenick kills one of the attackers in another assault and reclaims the man's wallet, which contained his police badge. Bishop then reveals the attackers are actually policemen, led by corrupt Captain Marcus Duvall (Gabriel Byrne). Previously, Bishop and Duvall were partners in crime, but Duvall got greedy. Now he and his men, including Sgt. Mike Kahane (Currie Graham), are there to kill Bishop before he can testify at trial, saving all officers involved a hefty prison sentence. However, now that everyone inside Precinct 13 knows of the true plot instead of just Bishop, they are all a liability and must be eliminated.Heavily outnumbered by a growing police force made up of dirty street cops and SWAT officers, Roenick makes the decision to free and arm the prisoners to help them hold out until dawn. Although the officers do not trust the criminals, and vice-versa, Roenick and Bishop reach an agreement to cooperate in order to stand a chance to survive the night. With their combined efforts, they manage to repel further attacks by the police forces, and reclaim their weapons.Soon Precinct 13 is joined by another officer, off-duty cop Capra (Matt Craven). After driving erratically enough to evade the snipers from the buildings across the street, he scurries into the building completely confused and panicked. The attending officers welcome him with open arms, but Beck accuses him of being a plant. Fearing he may start a shootout, Bishop subdues Beck to calm him down and settles the conflict.Smiley also thinks that Capra is a plant, so he and Beck decide to risk the police force outside for a shot at freedom, and plan an escape over a nearby fence.As the prison bus explodes and they notice Smiley and Beck escaping, they decide to use this as a distraction and also plan an escape, making use of Capra's car in order for a couple people to flee the precinct and call for help while the police are busy with Beck and Smiley.Anna, who can hotwire a car, volunteers to go. Alex also goes along. Beck and Smiley make it to the perimeter fence before they are killed by snipers. Anna and Alex appear to have made it, before a cop hidden in the backseat shoots and kills Anna, causing the car to crash and Alex to be captured.Alex is brought before Duvall, who asks her how many are in the precinct. Defiant, she replies "a hundred", and she is executed by Duvall after complimenting her on her bravery.With only Roenick, Bishop, Jasper, Capra, and Iris left, the precinct stands little chance of withstanding further assaults. Bishop discovers the handcuffs that were holding the back door locked are removed. He concludes that someone inside is helping the police and accuses Capra, but before anything can be done, the police begin to lay siege to the precinct with SWAT reinforcements from the rooftop when a police helicopter arrives and begins dropping men onto the roof.Jasper miraculously remembers an old sewage entrance beneath the precinct, and Roenick and Bishop set the precinct on fire to slow their pursuers. The survivors escape along an abandoned sewer passageway, but even as they find themselves on a deserted street they are suddenly surrounded by the corrupt policemen. Jasper reveals himself to have been the traitor all along, and the officers led by Duvall prepare to execute the remaining survivors.Bishop sneaks a flash grenade into Jasper's jacket, and in the ensuing distraction the survivors disarm the officers and escape. Iris and Capra attempt to escape in the officers' car, while Roenick and Bishop flee into the forest. Duvall and another officer pursue Roenick, while Kahane goes after the car. The car flips and Capra is heavily injured, but Iris manages to stab Kahane with his own knife.In the nearby forest, Roenick is suddenly confronted by Bishop, who offers to cooperate in order to kill Duvall. As the corrupt officers have night vision and Roenick and Bishop do not, Roenick volunteers to draw their fire so Bishop can see the muzzle flashes from their weapons, and dispose of them while they are distracted. The plan works, and Bishop kills the accompanying officer, but he is then shot in the stomach by Duvall who orders Bishop to lure Roenick into a trap. Roenick arrives and guns down Duvall, but is shot in the side and injured also.After considering their cooperation throughout the night, Bishop decides to spare Roenick, who vows that he will find and arrest him someday. After Bishop limps away, officers led by Iris arrive. An officer asks Roenick if anyone else is in the forest, and after looking around for a moment he replies "no". The last shot is of an injured Roenick and Iris making their way to the ambulance, where Iris states she did not even recognize the battle-hardened Roenick of the night, and he replies, "get used to it."

Tags: suspenseful, neo noir, murder, violence, action, revenge

Review:
A remake of John Carpenter's superior film of the same title from 1976, Assault on Precinct 13 concerns a siege on a largely abandoned police station, which is related to the presence of a notorious criminal, Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne).
Another positive, though, is that Richet's film brings back a few small details, such as the capture of the criminal at the beginning of the film, and a substance addiction in one of the heroes leading to a character transformation, found in Rio Bravo (1959), the film that in conjunction with Night of the Living Dead, was the main inspiration for Carpenter's original film.Also on the positive side, this Assault has a skilled (and much more well known) cast.
On a snowy New Year's Eve, a police station where a bus full of convicts has been jailed comes under attack from corrupt policemen, forcing a police sergeant with a cloudy past (Ethan Hawke) to team with a ruthless mob boss (Lawrence Fishburne) to try to keep them at bay.The original was a pretty good film so I'm still confused about the need to remake it.
John Carpenter's original (which was, in fact, already a sort of remake of "Rio Bravo") will always remain one of the coolest, groundbreaking action movies ever (if it were only for that brutal and hugely controversial ice cream-truck sequence alone), but this film is a neat tribute..
I haven't seen Carpenter's original version but the remake seems like a very solid modern action crime/thriller with an interesting cast.
Now we've arrived at this 2005 remake.Directed by Jean-Francois Richet, Ethan Hawke is the pill-popping alcoholic Jake Roenick who must round up his troops on the last day at Precinct 13 on New Year's Eve in Detroit.
The opening of the story is one of the best I've seen in years, and throughout the acting is solid which wasn't surprising with this cast, but the dialogue was great all the way through, which you don't usually get in films anymore, and the action and building of tension was done very well by the director, his choreographers, and the composers.
Now Jake is forced to ally with the prisoners to keep up and prevent them from reaching Bishop but occurs a few unexpected surprises.A film which action is not absent, has a good dose of mystery and good performances from Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne.
Assault on Precinct 13, which is the remake of John Carpenter's 1976 version of the same name is an entertaining action film with credible performances, cool action scenes, a nice story, and just gives you a fun time.
I haven't seen the original so I can't compare, but this movie stands well on it's own.This film is about a cop named Jake and a few others who are about to shut down their station for good on New Year's, but when a gang of violent prisoners including a guy named Bishop arrive, they are attacked by an outside gang and these prisoners and cops must gang up together in order to survive the night.The acting is nothing special, but it's nothing bad either.
Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne are two respected actors and I liked them in these roles often squaring off against each other.Overall, this is a solid action film.
I was shocked and surprised to see this movie only rated a 6.2 on IMDb. I rate it an 8 to an 8.5The lead actors in it are well cast and the action sequences are really entertaining.There are a few twists in the story that are enjoyable but I wont spoil the fun by revealing them here.Laurence Fishburne is at his usual charismatic best, this time as a villain and Ethan Hawk puts in a fine performance also.
Ostensibly a remake of John Carpenter's cult favourite, the new and improved Assault on Precinct 13 acknowledges its debt to Rio Bravo early on with a couple of lazy Dean Martin Christmas jingles.Martin was a deputy drunk in Howard Hawks's 1959 western classic, which is where Carpenter borrowed the plot for his 1976 cop drama.
Hatchet-faced tough guy John Wayne played a bossy sheriff in the original; in that film, Dino and Duke keep a passel of bad guys from breaking into jail and grabbing their prisoner.Same story here, except this time out we're in a condemned Detroit precinct on New Year's Eve, and the prisoner is a drug lord played by the lethally cool Laurence Fishburne.The film's real departure, and gamble, is that Ethan Hawke, dweeb aesthete from Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, is now playing the Duke's and Dino's cop characters.
Our limping hero is now a wisecracking junkie (Scotch and Seconal), trying to forget about A Time When He Cared.Making matters worse, the force shrink (Maria Bello) shows up New Year's Eve, wanting to know why Jake is still hiding behind a desk in a soon-to-be abandoned precinct.
It really makes no sense how these commandos could ever suffer any significant amount of casualties.It also makes no sense how they could get these assault rifles that look like they are still ten years from being released, but can't use something as simple as a grenade to flush the people out.There are more plot holes and stupidities, but I do not wish to spoil the movie.The whole thing about a cop station under siege and prisoners working with cops is a cool scenario, but this never rises above stupid action movie here.ACTION: 13/25: It's a B-movie, so expect B-movie action.
and I have to say Ethan Hawke and Drea de Matteo really bit it with their quasi-acting in this movie - although I will have to say that I'm not sold that it was all the actor's fault, as a great deal of the wasted effort was definitely in the writing.A solid rental.
"Assault on Precinct 13" is an ordinary action/drama about a handful of cops, a couple of babes, and several criminals in a soon-to-be-defunct police station house on a dark and snowy New Year's eve who come under siege by a small army of bad guys who want to kill one of the prisoners to prevent him from testifying in court.
On Precinct, Carpenter was still learning how to exploit his almost non-existent budget by using lower-shelf actors, keeping the action to the one hellishly small location, and moving the film along at a tight pace with a combination of editing, intelligent camera work and switched-on genre savvy.No-one wants or needs to be hungry in Hollywood anymore, particularly if the week's catering bill on the 2005 version of Assault On Precinct 13 is more than the entire cost of the original.
The cast, Maria Bello, Laurence Fishburne, Ethan Hawke, Gabriel Burne, John Leguizamo and Drea De Matteo are all great actors but even they couldn't save this film.
I wish the entire movie was as gritty and real as the intro.In order to enjoy some movies, a lot can be forgiven,(hand guns with 60 shots, hero's with super human powers, all women are gorgeous AND half naked) but Puuuuleeese this "Assault On My Intelligence 13" is so far fetched that I'm surprised the cast showed up for a second day of filming.Firstly, how did these guys get to be cops?
...it's actually remarkably, frustratingly average.Imagine if a respected independent director, used to low budgets and developed characters, were drafted by a major studio with deep pockets to direct an action film, it would probably come out looking something like this dull, pedestrian remake of John Carpenter's siege epic: Lots of talk, lots of loopy camera angles (to symbolize 'creativity' as the helicopter blades go 'round), and lots of art-directed death scenes (blood darkening white snow after a bullet to the head, for instance).The original "Assualt" was lowdown and gritty, suspenseful and funny, visceral and well-developed.
The movie is a clumsy mix of exposition scenes that stretch on far too long (the clichéd characters don't need as much justification as they are given) interspersed with action that simply isn't very thrilling (perhaps because the aforementioned approach is so banal); add to this frantic edits that often render the action incoherent and you might find yourself being lulled into Slumberland (I kept wondering if I had just had too long a day as I sat in my seat)...Ethan Hawke gamely leads the way through this blizzard of problems, but without much help from the stereotypical supporting players: John Leguizamo as a wisecracking speed freak; Ja Rule as a con who refers to himself in the third person; Maria Bello as a psychiatrist who recites multiplication tables in times of panic; Gabriel Byrne as the steely, one-dimensional villain.
Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Gabriel Byrne, Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo, Ja Rule, Maria Bello and Drea de Matteo, all are given intriguing characters with something to add to the bubbling thriller stew.Personally I feel that this picture is harshly treated, because as remakes go it does entertain those willing to judge it for what it is.
A good example of when the new Assault On Precinct 13 does not work is when Brian Dennehy, one of the few actors in this remake who is old enough to have been in the original (he was not - his asking price was probably too high at the time), conveniently announces he has found a way out of the precinct via the basement.
Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne lead a good cast in this fast paced action thriller.All the ingredients are here good characters, plenty of action, some decent twists; some you see coming and a couple you don't, and it doesn't get over the top on the action scenes, giving the viewer a very believable movie experience.Aside from the fact that this a good solid movie, it's lacking that something special to separate it from many other action movies.That said it is still a very good 109Mins of entertainment and is certainly worthy of your attention.7/10.
The Story of the remake is about a disgrace Detroit Police Officer (Ethan Hawke) is been assign to stay for the night with an sexy secretary (Drea de Matteo) and old veteran officer (Brian Dennehy) for the last night at the police station for New Year's Eve before it shut down for the next day.A Gangster (Laurence Fishburne) is been caught by the police and sent to prison but since the bug is caught on a bad winter storm.
John Carpenter's original Assault on Precinct 13 plays off more like a horror movie than an action flick.
What unfolds on screen is a typical Hollywood action film, and could very well be referred to as Die Hard in a Police Station.Lacking the brutal edge of the original, and feeling glossier, this isn't always a bad thing as some of the camera work and style play well, from the grainy texture of the opening scenes, to the skewed camera set ups.
The overall average nature of the remake is brought up a grade or two by the presence of Lawrence Fishburne as the crime boss, Bishop, Ethan Hawke as the cop (Jake), and Gabriel Byrne as the bad cop (Duvall), who all give decent enough performances.In general this is a solid actioner, which may not be totally original, nor is it a patch on the 1976 version, but is good enough entertainment..
cops,when a natural born cop-slayer called Bishop(an awesome as cold-blooded Fishburne)is jailed in some accidental as brief stopping before to arrive towards his final doom along with another thugs (Leguizamo in his own as usual)in an almost locking out police prescient,the remaining cops on duty that night,eve of a new year,rather thinking to get a funny ball with relax instead,including two pretty females:a pretty doctor called Alex(Maria Bello nice&talented)and a hot secretary called Iris(Drea de Matteo as sexy as talented)an obsessed chick for the sex,in the final transition between a year gone and a new to live,a surprising siege takes over the frozen outside around the precinct,a bad squad of corrupted cops commanded by a greedy officer called Marcus Duvall(the usual superb villain Gabriel Byrne!)an illegal fellow with Bishop,goes to sweep away all the clues capable to cage him in a deserved cell,no matter whoever pays the consequences,being Bishop the target to aim,the resistance into the prescient is helped by the four thieves with Bishop heading the dreadful bunch.Bullits down and up,falling the resistance step by step,a final escape is made in an underground tunnel,the main good-doer Jake Roenick(a miscast ed Ethan Hawke,good actor but i've seen him in best movies, never to compare with the original Kurt Russell),is trapped by the snipers on service to Duvall,the veteran chief Jasper O'Shea(so good Bryan Dennehy)betrays his badge and never minding about his next final on his long-time assignment and puts the survivors to the will of the wicked Duvall,but Bishop puts out his ace under his sleeve when throws a grenade over the betrayer,the typical getaway with blood and fire present of course,permits to spread the field of violence,Iris stabs a sniper,Duvall is killed by Roenick saving Bishop,this one lets a wounded Roenick exposed to his own device,but Iris gets the good and saviors cops to rescue Roenick,though Bishop fades away.This film is conventional because another police films show a similar violence and even more effective,there were holes in the plot:a bad beginning so confused,never deeply treated,unwarned cops before the undesirables and possible plains to set them free(Bishop),Didn't they think about the underground way out in a first moment?,Why to trust in such thugs?,Why to kill Alex and better not to tie her up as hostage to deal about?,the snipers were shot so easily when Bishop bursts Jaspers, Where did the rest of the snipers go when everything was over?Why to get loose Bishop in the end?,TOO MANY HOLES never to fix,the french director Richet was not the ideal one,in best hands(James Cameron,John McTiernan,Robert Rodriguez or another recognized director)the final result should be superior.
Assault On Precinct 13 is less of a remake of John Carpenter's balls out, guerrilla action treatise and more of a branch off into timeless, near western archetypes, as well as the good old siege thriller format.
ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 isn't better than the John Carpenter film from the '70s, but it IS a decent remake.
This remake Assault on precinct 13 serves as a good action movie.
Assault on Precinct 13 is a remake of John Carpenter's film from 1976.
Whilst a reasonable enough action movie with decent enough performances from the cast, the main problem with this film is the storyline.I know Spiderman doesn't really exist so I don't have a problem with him being able to climb skyscrapers and I'm not scornful of Superman's ability to fly because he isn't real but I find it pretty hard to believe that some 30+ police officers in the middle of New York would willingly take part in the mass slaughter of civilians and police officers in a police station just to preserve their backhanders.If it had been set in the future they might have got away with this storyline but set in contemporary times - its just absurd..
Byrne is a good actor, but the bad guy he plays here is just some dirty cop who we only see as a man wanting to break into the precinct to get the gangster with whom he used to work.
While many action films these days are comprised of bad story lines, worthless characters, bad actors, and too much cgi; Assault on Precinct 13 is not.
There are times throughout this film where the cinematography is very good, thus enhancing the effect of certain scenes.Perhaps the two things that really save this movie is Laurence Fishburne's great performance and the plot of the film.
Assault On Precinct 13 is a non-stop action flick about an old police station that is closing down on New Year's Eve with only two cops and a secretary inside.
Not a bad remake on New Year's Eve in the winter snow Assault on Precinct 13 is a bad-ass police action thriller.
Huge fan of the film, is not nearly good as John Carpenter's "Assault on Precinct 13" but as a stand up alone movie from Jean-François Richet it works for me manly for the action and the story.
The remake is not a horror film like was John Carpenter's original film but it is an action film and thriller.
We have Brian Dennehy Sheriff Will Teasle him self from "First Blood." Gabriel Byrne as the lead bad guy was wonderful from Schwarzenegger "End of Days." John Leguizamo and Ja Rule were both good in their roles I enjoy them.I watch the remake and the original Assault on Precinct 13 film with my friends in high school when this movie come out.
And it wasn't until I saw it shown on TV that I actually sat down to watch this movie.There are some pretty good talents on the cast list aside from Ethan Hawke and Lawrence Fishburne; talents that include John Leguizamo, Brian Dennehy and Gabriel Byrne.
I know remakes can get battered by a lot of people true to the original films, but instead of complaining about them, I like to have an open mind, and it's only after watching them I'll comment.Not all remakes/reboots are bad.Anyway, this version of Assault on Precinct 13 is a very decent action/thriller that's (mostly) well scripted, well filmed, and very well acted.
The Assault On Precinct 13 remake was released a few years before both of these and by all accounts is yet another John Carpenter remake that has gone horribly wrong (again I have not seen the original of this).We start the film with a drug addicted Ethan Hawke, motor mouthing his way through a potential drug deal.
Thankfully, Assault on Precinct 13 can boast of an ensemble (Gabriel Byrne, Ethan Hawke, Maria Bello, John Leguizamo, Laurence Fishbourne) that is strong and assured enough to avoid the most cringeworthy moments and cheesiest one-liners.In fact, the film purposely takes no such action approach.