This well-made siege-thriller features plenty of action, excitement and some interesting characters but it's also incredibly tense. The tension is created by the predicament that a small group of staff in a police precinct face when they come under attack from a far more powerful and well-armed group of assailants who are intent on killing them. The fact that the besieged staff can't contact anyone to get any help and are led by a psychologically-damaged station sergeant only makes matters worse. Furthermore, when they have to make some uncomfortable alliances and start to incur casualties, things get even more edgy.New Year's Eve is a significant time for Detroit's Precinct 13 because it's due to be closed down at midnight and the only staff still on duty are the officer in charge, Sergeant Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke), veteran cop Jasper O'Shea (Brian Dennehy) and their secretary Iris Ferry (Drea de Matteo). Most of the contents of the building have already been removed and Iris is busy packing the few items that still remain. Jake is an ex-undercover cop who, eight months earlier, was involved in an operation that went wrong and resulted in the deaths of two of his fellow officers. Since that time, he's been consumed with guilt, reliant on painkillers and booze and has been placed under the care of police psychiatrist Alex Sabian (Maria Bello).Outside, a powerful snowstorm is raging and as the road conditions deteriorate, the guards who are transporting a bus-load of criminals nearby, realise that they won't be able to reach their destination and so divert to Precinct 13, where their prisoners can be locked up for the night. On board are notorious crime boss and cop killer, Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne), counterfeit goods dealer, Smiley (Ja Rule), Anna (Aisha Hinds) who claims to be innocent of everything she's been charged with and drug addict Beck (John Leguizamo). All four are duly secured in their cells and then some vehicles and a heavily-armed group of men surround the building and demand that Bishop be released. Jake naturally assumes that these are Bishop's men and so refuses their request. When he discovers that they are, in fact, a group of corrupt cops who have had a long business association with Bishop, it becomes clear that the lives of everyone in the building are in danger and the violent exchanges that follow, prove to be a fight to the death.With the well-choreographed action taking place in the dark and things becoming increasingly claustrophobic for the besieged group, the movie's atmosphere becomes really threatening. Ethan Hawke does a good job of showing how significantly his character has changed since the events that had such a powerful effect on his psychological state and Laurence Fishburne makes a powerful impression as the ultra-cool Bishop. Drea de Matteo is amusing as the secretary with a reputation for bedding "bad boys" and the rest of the cast also bring something interesting to the portrayals of each of their characters.

Everybody knows that remakes are never much cop – very rarely do they improve on the often classic originals. ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 isn't better than the John Carpenter film from the '70s, but it IS a decent remake. This is because it updates and changes the original film in positive ways that make it different enough to be worth watching. That, and the fact that it's a very good little thriller in itself.The gang in the Carpenter movie was scary because it was random. There was no motive, just the fact that they were out to kill people for the fun of it. That's gone in this movie; the gang here has a definite motive that leads them into a life-or-death struggle for survival. There's a big twist which I won't reveal, but the fact that the gang are all armoured and possessing high-power weapons makes them even more of a threat than in the original movie. I loved it. Key scenes from the Carpenter movie are revisited, but turned around on their head to seem fresh and new.The worst thing about the film is probably the script, which relies far too heavily on profanity for effect. This is a big no-no, in my opinion, and reveals a dearth of imagination in James De Monaco's screenplay. Still, French director Jean-Francois Richet makes a decent fist of it, investing his film with plenty of suspense and tension, and the action scenes are all very well handled. I was frequently on the edge of my seat, and I haven't been able to say that about many recent action films from Hollywood. The only bit I didn't like was a bit ripped off from DIE HARD 2 where an icicle is used to dispatch a bad guy.ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 also benefits from an ensemble cast who make the best of what the script gives them. Ethan Hawke, who I never have liked – and still don't like much – works hard in the lead hero role. His work doesn't quite pay off and make him charismatic, but I think he does a good job, for what it's worth. Laurence Fishburne's still trading on his 'king of cool' image that he gained from THE MATRIX trilogy, so he doesn't have to do much work here, but he's one of the actors holding it all together. Gabriel Byrne is underused, as is Brian Dennehy, although it's nice to see the latter actor back on screen in a role reminiscent of his one from FIRST BLOD. Elsewhere we have John Leguizamo (CARLITO'S WAY) having fun as an on-the-edge addict, Maria Bello a little out of place, Ja Rule better than he was in HALF PAST DEAD, Kim Coates playing a jerk yet again, and Drea de Matteo as a lowlife. What's more to say?

The first Carpenter remake released in 05, the year of the Carpenter remakes. Amazingly this isn't a shot for shot remake but actually a reasonable attempt at something slightly different. Must give kudos to the script writer/s for trying a new angle with the plot to add a touch of originality.Its pretty much the same type of film as before accept this time the cops and crooks holed up within Precinct 13 are against crooked cops who want one of the convicts inside dead. Nice twist.You don't really expect that to be honest, I just expected the same old thing with a load of gang thugs but this adds a new dimension. The fact its a whole team of crooked cops led by the nasty Byrne is really good. Bryne merely stands around and sneers a lot ordering his men to do stuff, but his presence really boosts the bad guys, faceless no more.The good guys are now of course a group of big names but the choices are OK. Hawke is the Sgt in charge of the station and Dennehy is the clichéd fat old moustached vet cop, whilst Fishburne leads the bad guys with Leguizamo doing another good twitchy gun nut.On one hand this is a fun film, plenty of decent action, pretty violent, good visuals and good performances from the main leads. On the other hand it does get silly in places, very predictable of course and feels like they are trying too hard. I did wonder if they were having a swearing competition throughout, how many times can you say 'f*ck'!?, as if that will make the film better saying it a hundred times.The main issue is the simple plot point of a small group of convicts and beat cops up against a crack team of elite cops. Not just dumbass thugs but fully suited special ops type guys, yet they can't seem to crack this band of misfits, all of them end up getting killed! so much for elite cops huh.This is a fairly decent action romp I can't deny, stupid in places and with a slightly lame finale but its fun to watch. A slightly different beast to the original which is good but at the same time you lose the mystery and suspense of the original. The unknown lurking shadows in the bushes of the originals bad guys.There is a lot of stuff which has been tossed in here to flesh the whole thing out a bit more. Trying to make the film feel more of a serious Hollywood action thriller but its all pointless and not required, the beginning sequence especially. Think of this as a venture into 'Die Hard 2' territory, snow included. 6/10

Title: Assault on Precinct 13 Condensed Storyline: A police officer must get police and prisoners to unite and fight together to stop corrupt cops who are trying to capture one of the prisoners who would incriminate all he corrupt police. Notable Acting: I cannot take Laurence Fishburne seriously when I see he playing a gangster, as much as I like the actor and liked him in this movie, I feel that someone else would have been better, such as Jamie Fox or another actor or that sorts. Ethan Hawke plays the believable police Sargent who is left in the precinct under fire. Everyone else decent, not all too believable for some as they did act like they knew they were going to be killed off in the movie, so it made it harder for me to like them. Noticeable Camera work: Reverse mirror shot for when Jake is washing his face and looking in the mirror and the camera takes over by only showing his reflection Birds eye view of the prison transport container leaving God damn shaky cam in the break in sceneOverall Feel: This is one of those films which I like because of it's subtle political message, this has, does and always will happen in some police or governmental force somewhere in the world. Similar to 'Enemy of the State' this is realistic to an extent as this sort of thing can and does happen. The acting in the movie is good, the plot is slightly predictable but great to watch regardless along with its few twists and turns in the movie. Amazing action thriller, a step above and beyond the 76 movie of the same name. There isn't much else to write about the movie, as it is a good action thriller inside and out with a semi-realistic plot.