Amazon.co.uk Review
Action buffs will have a fine time with the spray of bullets, shattering glass, and pyrotechnic silliness that makes up the bulk of Assault on Precinct 13. Updated from the little-known cops-and-robbers classic John Carpenter made in 1976 (two years before he made his name with Halloween), this high-concept thriller is mostly a lowbrow kill-fest, and is very happy with itself for being so efficient in both categories. A decrepit police station on its last night before retirement--New Year's Eve, no less--plays unexpected home to a gang of criminals who become snowbound in the basement lockup. Another mysterious gang of people who stealthily gather in the blizzard outside want one of the particularly nasty criminals (Laurence Fishburne) dead, and they'll take the rest of the precinct down too, by golly. The odd lot of characters trapped inside include a burned-out sergeant (Ethan Hawke), a sexpot secretary (post-Sopranos Drea de Matteo), an even sexier police psychologist (Maria Bello), and various other good guys and bad guys who variously go down in blazes of guts, glory, bullets, and fire. Hawke and Fishburne are opposite sides of the coin: the law, and the bathroom scale. Their need to partner in order to survive the guns outside is the movie's moral conflict, and both actors chew on Precinct 13's peeling walls and scuffed floors to drive the point home every chance they get. Obvious filmmaking fakery abounds in everything from the irksome snowstorm, frequent gunshots to the head, and a shadowy forest that conveniently presents itself in an industrial section of Detroit for the climactic showdown. No matter, this Assault is for non-thinkers who want blood and gunpowder, with no messy slowdowns for logic, please.--Ted Fry
Customer Reviews:
More Die Hard 2 than Carpenter, but not bad at all.......2007-12-15
The 2005 Assault on Precinct 13 is an above-average remake, an efficient Saturday Night Special that never quite gets the adrenaline pumping in the action scenes as much as it could but doesn't trash memories of Carpenter's no-budget classic as much as expected. If anything, the template here is more a scaled down Die Hard 2 minus the planes, even going so far as to borrow both central plot twist and one of the more memorable killings. Ethan Hawke is in Tom Cruise-lite mode - all the focused self-righteous concentration with none of the Scientology - and Laurence Fishbourne offers a smooth update of Darwin Joston's cool criminal but Maria Bello is wasted in a nothing role that exists solely to serve Hawke's redemption backstory. There are a couple of neat new plot twists and one unexpected killing, but mostly this delivers familiar genre thrills with a comforting lack of originality. It's certainly more effective than the French near-remake Nid De Guepes/The Nest.
The DVD extras, like the film, are satisfying without being particularly outstanding, though it's a shame the trailer isn't included.
NOWHERE NEAR AS GOOD AS THE ORIGINAL BUT WATCHABLE.......2007-08-30
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). It's left up to a ragtag group of police employees and criminals to defend themselves.
I should start by noting that I absolutely love Carpenter's original film. In my view it is one of his best, perfectly capturing the suburban desolation of 1970s Los Angeles, and exquisitely suspenseful and horrifying, even though it's not really a horror film. Despite that, when this remake of Assault on Precinct 13 began, I had high hopes for it. The first scene is well directed, well shot, with excellent dialogue. It turns into an intense action scene at just the right moment, and results in some realistic, gritty deaths. The opening is as good as anything in the Carpenter film.
Unfortunately, Assault on Precinct 13's excellence ended right there. It's not exactly a bad film--I enjoyed it more often than not, but it does have more than its share of flaws. In the end, my rating average out to a 7 out of 10. Recommendable, but with reservations.
The first problem is that director Jean-Francois Richet tries to do too much--too much backstory, too many characters, too many over-the-top characters, too many quick cuts, too much shaky hand-held camera work, too many "big action moves", too many explosions, too many settings, and it's too dark. That the film is often so quickly edited and dark makes it too often difficult to see what's going on in the action scenes. Carpenter's film succeeded by being very taut, economical, sober and logical in its directorial style. Richet tries to one-up the original by forgoing all of those qualities. By the second or third scene, I was fairly confused. Superfluous characters were popping in and out, people were mumbling dialogue, and there was a whole complex backstory being hinted at and not spelled out very well.
The brutal shooting near the beginning of the original film, which sets off the whole sequence of events, was dropped--that thread was completely removed from the film. It was lamentable in that this new Assault loses much of the simple, sensible drive the thread provided, and it was surely a decision based on political correctness. Likewise, Bishop is not allowed to be a clear-cut bad guy here. That saps some of the effectiveness out of his cooperation. In this film, he might be mostly tough talk. The other criminals in the film are either left largely unexplained or guilty of only petty or consensual crimes. I find this kind of political correctness in films reprehensible, although I realize it's primarily a studio decision.
On the positive side, the villains here were cleverly conceived, and their nature makes them much more menacing physically. On the negative side, however, Richet lost the Night of the Living Dead (1968) zombie-like nature of the marauders, which saps suspense from the attacks. The logistics of the defense of the police station and details of their dilemma are not very clearly scripted or staged, either, which doesn't help. Another flaw is that some intruders seem to inexplicably hesitate. 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. Even though Richter occasionally directed them to be a bit too over-the-top, the performances hit many very interesting notes. And a few of the additions to the original film, such as a Mexican standoff and a couple later scenes outside the police station were excellent. The increased firepower here may also be to some viewer's liking.
A viewer less fond of the original, or even unfamiliar with the original, may like Assault better than I did. I may have even liked it better if the original were not so fresh in my memory (I just watched it again it recently--a review is forthcoming). There are enough redeeming aspects for action fans to make it worth at least a rental or a viewing on cable, but approach the film with lowered expectations.
Worth A Watch!.......2006-10-02
Watched this movie this evening and i'd definitely say it's worth a watch. If you like a good action movie then this won't disappoint.
Very Good.......2006-09-20
This is a quality film lawrence fishbourne dominates the role as mariam bishop a hard man of crime. it is so full of twists and turns yet it has such an easy plot. this is certainly thrilling and i think that that the romantic side of things is completely different to most movies a absolutely quality movie i thoroghly reccomend a viewing if not buying it.
Neat thriller with an edge.......2006-09-03
I watched this film expecting it to be just another thriller with lots of explosions etc. and wasn't dissappointed. The film is a great easy-watch with little brain power required and a simple plot- bunch of crooked cops lauch an assault on a precinct that holds a criminal who can uncover their shady work. But the film was better than I expected. It was notably dark, with ethan hawke's character a great anti-hero, clearly troubled by psychological problems. Even the romance that runs through the film doesn't have the normal hollywood ending to it. Ultimately it even digs deeper with some exploration of the survival instinct in all of us, how we put ourselves first when faced with danger, which is all-controlling for one of the cops. The acting' not great but not bad either, snd I haven't seen the original so I can't make comparisons but this is a very good thriller that is worth a watch when you want to sit down wit a movie that requires little thinking.
Customer Reviews:
They are coming to blow Laurence Fishburne away.......2006-04-25
I did not see John Carpenter's original version of "Assault on Precinct 13," but that did matter to my enjoyment of the 2005 remake. I was paying attention so I knew what the set up was, both inside and out of the precinct, as we went along. But being ahead of the characters on this one does not do you much good because there are ample twists in James DeMonaco's script (I made the mistake of announcing right before the first assault the two characters I was sure would survive all the bullets and I was half-right, which is a polite way of saying I was half-wrong).
It is New Year's Eve in Jean-Francois Richet's film and it has started to snow heavily. Precinct 13 officially closes at the stroke of midnight and filling up the last boxes are Sergeant Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke), who has been hiding behind a desk ever since an undercover gig went horribly bad and he was wounded while his two partners were killed, grizzled veteran Jasper O'Shea (Brian Dennehy) who is always talking about retirement, and secretary Iris Ferry (Drea de Matteo) who is always talking about sex with bad boys. Jake would rather talk about sex than his feelings about what happened before with Alex Sabian (Mario Bello), the department shrink who happens to stop by on a snowy New Year's Eve to take another crack at Jake's psyche.
Then a Detroit police transport bus shows up with a quartet of prisoners, unable to get to the prison because of the storm and a highway accident. There is Beck (John Leguizamo), who will not shut up, Anna (Alisha Hinds) a girl with a crew-cut who proclaims her innocence, Smiley (Ja Rule), a counterfeiter, and Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne), the most notorious criminal in the city, who has just been arrested for murdering an undercover cop under suspicious circumstances. So when a couple of guys with guns break into the precinct and everybody is yelling these are Bishop's men coming to get get, we do not buy it. After all, as soon as Bishop saw them he hid behind a wall. Things are just beginning to get interesting.
"Assault on Precinct 13" is an action film where the human element is really more interesting once Jake figures out that to survive the night he needs everybody to help out, which means not only the prisoners but the women. Everybody gets a gun in this one, but you know full well that not everybody can be trusted with one. Furthermore, Jake is fully aware that Bishop is the smartest and deadliest person there, but this movie is all about making the best of a bad situation that keeps getting worse. The death of one character really puts the way this is going to play out into question, and I liked the note on which the film actually ends once we finally get down to the inevitable confrontation between the two main characters. Not great, but certainly an enjoyable action picture with a minimum amount of stupidity on the part of the characters once you accept the idea the die is cast and it is all or nothing for the bad guys. That is a pretty good recommendation for this genre.
Customer Reviews:
They are coming to blow Laurence Fishburne away.......2006-04-25
I did not see John Carpenter's original version of "Assault on Precinct 13," but that did matter to my enjoyment of the 2005 remake. I was paying attention so I knew what the set up was, both inside and out of the precinct, as we went along. But being ahead of the characters on this one does not do you much good because there are ample twists in James DeMonaco's script (I made the mistake of announcing right before the first assault the two characters I was sure would survive all the bullets and I was half-right, which is a polite way of saying I was half-wrong).
It is New Year's Eve in Jean-Francois Richet's film and it has started to snow heavily. Precinct 13 officially closes at the stroke of midnight and filling up the last boxes are Sergeant Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke), who has been hiding behind a desk ever since an undercover gig went horribly bad and he was wounded while his two partners were killed, grizzled veteran Jasper O'Shea (Brian Dennehy) who is always talking about retirement, and secretary Iris Ferry (Drea de Matteo) who is always talking about sex with bad boys. Jake would rather talk about sex than his feelings about what happened before with Alex Sabian (Mario Bello), the department shrink who happens to stop by on a snowy New Year's Eve to take another crack at Jake's psyche.
Then a Detroit police transport bus shows up with a quartet of prisoners, unable to get to the prison because of the storm and a highway accident. There is Beck (John Leguizamo), who will not shut up, Anna (Alisha Hinds) a girl with a crew-cut who proclaims her innocence, Smiley (Ja Rule), a counterfeiter, and Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne), the most notorious criminal in the city, who has just been arrested for murdering an undercover cop under suspicious circumstances. So when a couple of guys with guns break into the precinct and everybody is yelling these are Bishop's men coming to get get, we do not buy it. After all, as soon as Bishop saw them he hid behind a wall. Things are just beginning to get interesting.
"Assault on Precinct 13" is an action film where the human element is really more interesting once Jake figures out that to survive the night he needs everybody to help out, which means not only the prisoners but the women. Everybody gets a gun in this one, but you know full well that not everybody can be trusted with one. Furthermore, Jake is fully aware that Bishop is the smartest and deadliest person there, but this movie is all about making the best of a bad situation that keeps getting worse. The death of one character really puts the way this is going to play out into question, and I liked the note on which the film actually ends once we finally get down to the inevitable confrontation between the two main characters. Not great, but certainly an enjoyable action picture with a minimum amount of stupidity on the part of the characters once you accept the idea the die is cast and it is all or nothing for the bad guys. That is a pretty good recommendation for this genre.
Customer Reviews:
They are coming to blow Laurence Fishburne away.......2006-04-25
I did not see John Carpenter's original version of "Assault on Precinct 13," but that did matter to my enjoyment of the 2005 remake. I was paying attention so I knew what the set up was, both inside and out of the precinct, as we went along. But being ahead of the characters on this one does not do you much good because there are ample twists in James DeMonaco's script (I made the mistake of announcing right before the first assault the two characters I was sure would survive all the bullets and I was half-right, which is a polite way of saying I was half-wrong).
It is New Year's Eve in Jean-Francois Richet's film and it has started to snow heavily. Precinct 13 officially closes at the stroke of midnight and filling up the last boxes are Sergeant Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke), who has been hiding behind a desk ever since an undercover gig went horribly bad and he was wounded while his two partners were killed, grizzled veteran Jasper O'Shea (Brian Dennehy) who is always talking about retirement, and secretary Iris Ferry (Drea de Matteo) who is always talking about sex with bad boys. Jake would rather talk about sex than his feelings about what happened before with Alex Sabian (Mario Bello), the department shrink who happens to stop by on a snowy New Year's Eve to take another crack at Jake's psyche.
Then a Detroit police transport bus shows up with a quartet of prisoners, unable to get to the prison because of the storm and a highway accident. There is Beck (John Leguizamo), who will not shut up, Anna (Alisha Hinds) a girl with a crew-cut who proclaims her innocence, Smiley (Ja Rule), a counterfeiter, and Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne), the most notorious criminal in the city, who has just been arrested for murdering an undercover cop under suspicious circumstances. So when a couple of guys with guns break into the precinct and everybody is yelling these are Bishop's men coming to get get, we do not buy it. After all, as soon as Bishop saw them he hid behind a wall. Things are just beginning to get interesting.
"Assault on Precinct 13" is an action film where the human element is really more interesting once Jake figures out that to survive the night he needs everybody to help out, which means not only the prisoners but the women. Everybody gets a gun in this one, but you know full well that not everybody can be trusted with one. Furthermore, Jake is fully aware that Bishop is the smartest and deadliest person there, but this movie is all about making the best of a bad situation that keeps getting worse. The death of one character really puts the way this is going to play out into question, and I liked the note on which the film actually ends once we finally get down to the inevitable confrontation between the two main characters. Not great, but certainly an enjoyable action picture with a minimum amount of stupidity on the part of the characters once you accept the idea the die is cast and it is all or nothing for the bad guys. That is a pretty good recommendation for this genre.
Customer Reviews:
They are coming to blow Laurence Fishburne away.......2006-04-25
I did not see John Carpenter's original version of "Assault on Precinct 13," but that did matter to my enjoyment of the 2005 remake. I was paying attention so I knew what the set up was, both inside and out of the precinct, as we went along. But being ahead of the characters on this one does not do you much good because there are ample twists in James DeMonaco's script (I made the mistake of announcing right before the first assault the two characters I was sure would survive all the bullets and I was half-right, which is a polite way of saying I was half-wrong).
It is New Year's Eve in Jean-Francois Richet's film and it has started to snow heavily. Precinct 13 officially closes at the stroke of midnight and filling up the last boxes are Sergeant Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke), who has been hiding behind a desk ever since an undercover gig went horribly bad and he was wounded while his two partners were killed, grizzled veteran Jasper O'Shea (Brian Dennehy) who is always talking about retirement, and secretary Iris Ferry (Drea de Matteo) who is always talking about sex with bad boys. Jake would rather talk about sex than his feelings about what happened before with Alex Sabian (Mario Bello), the department shrink who happens to stop by on a snowy New Year's Eve to take another crack at Jake's psyche.
Then a Detroit police transport bus shows up with a quartet of prisoners, unable to get to the prison because of the storm and a highway accident. There is Beck (John Leguizamo), who will not shut up, Anna (Alisha Hinds) a girl with a crew-cut who proclaims her innocence, Smiley (Ja Rule), a counterfeiter, and Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne), the most notorious criminal in the city, who has just been arrested for murdering an undercover cop under suspicious circumstances. So when a couple of guys with guns break into the precinct and everybody is yelling these are Bishop's men coming to get get, we do not buy it. After all, as soon as Bishop saw them he hid behind a wall. Things are just beginning to get interesting.
"Assault on Precinct 13" is an action film where the human element is really more interesting once Jake figures out that to survive the night he needs everybody to help out, which means not only the prisoners but the women. Everybody gets a gun in this one, but you know full well that not everybody can be trusted with one. Furthermore, Jake is fully aware that Bishop is the smartest and deadliest person there, but this movie is all about making the best of a bad situation that keeps getting worse. The death of one character really puts the way this is going to play out into question, and I liked the note on which the film actually ends once we finally get down to the inevitable confrontation between the two main characters. Not great, but certainly an enjoyable action picture with a minimum amount of stupidity on the part of the characters once you accept the idea the die is cast and it is all or nothing for the bad guys. That is a pretty good recommendation for this genre.
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