What makes it different from others?

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

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. It's also one of the meanest, grittiest cop films of the last few decades, deserving a higher rung on the ladder of adoration than it has so far ascended to. Dark, merciless and full of yuletide gallows humour, it's a searing blast of gunfire and snowbound pulp starring a roster of fired up talent, starting with an intense Ethan Hawke and an unpredictable, predatory Laurence Fishburne. Fishburne is Marion Bishop, a legendary criminal kingpin wrapped tight in police custody and shipped off to a remote precinct on New Years eve with a busload of fellow prisoner transports. The station is run by a few relaxed cops, all preparing to punch that clock and get the New Year's festivities underway. Unfortunately, a gang of corrupt detectives have other ideas, descending upon the ill guarded outpost with the fury and firepower of animals set loose, determined to murder everyone inside and level the place to the ground in order to cover up their actions. Hawke is the veteran cop with a dodgy undercover past, blessed with the grit and gristle necessary to rally the troupes and self preserve til the morning light. Drea De Matteo, who's awesome and welcome in anything, is a tough female sergeant, Maria Bello the sharp police psychiatrist caught in the middle, Brian Dennehy the salty old dog, and a laundry list of rabid felons who pitch in to save their own asses, including Ja Rule, Aisha Hinds, Currie Graham and a wired up John Leguizamo. Together they all make a veritable wild bunch to hold down the fort, but the forces they're up against are tactical and terrifying. The opposition is headed up by a dangerously quiet Gabriel Byrne as deeply a corrupt Police Captain, doing a coiled viper rendition of a Christopher Walken villain, his work one of the strongest aspects of the film. Watch for Matt Craven and Kim Coates in brief cameos as well. The action is a ballistic blitzkrieg of firefights, standoffs and ditch efforts, scarcely giving the audience time to breathe, let alone tally up the casualties, of which there are many. This ain't no cakewalk, in terms of action films. It's down, dirty and has no time for quips, smart mouths or villains that monologue. Everyone involved in a caged animal prepared to go to extremes at the drop of a hat in order to achieve their goals, with kneejerk reactions and off the cuff violence that feels real, and cuts deep. If you are serious about your action films, and enjoy ruthless, non patronizing narratives that get as cold as the snow drifts surrounding the precinct and as casually indifferent as the bullets that ventilate it, this is your ticket.

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.