Assault Still Violent, Still Entertaining

On a wintry New Year’s Eve, the cops of Detroit’s Precinct 13 sit toasting the night away watching the snow fall. Only three of them remain; former undercover cop Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke), old-timer Jasper O’Shea (Brian Dennehy), tartly dressed secretary Iris Ferry (Drea de Matteo); overseeing the final night of the dilapidated police house, its doors closing forever in the morning. But when a raging snowstorm forces a bus carrying prisoners to the station’s doorstep, the trio’s quiet evening sipping champagne takes a turn for the worse.

Much worse, for one of the prisoners just happens to be local crime lord and accused cop killer Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne), and the last thing a group of dirty cops, led by the well-respected Marcus Duvall (Gabriel Byrne), wants is for him to ever see trial. Why? They’re dirty, and Bishop will implicate all of them in illegal activity, destroying their careers and lives in a few simple brushstrokes. Now Roenick and company find themselves under siege by a better equipped and much better trained foe with no way to call for help or escape. The only thing to do is arm the prisoners, including Bishop, and strike an uneasy truce so as to fend off the terror assaulting them from outside.

The world really didn’t need a remake of John Carpenter’s 1976 cult classic (itself a remake of Howard Hawks’ 1959 classic Rio Bravo) Assault on Precinct 13. It got one anyway, and darn it if this old-fashioned B-movie concept is still a potent grabber. Shifting the action to the present day and making the villains crooked cops instead of doped-up gang members, writer James DeMonaco (The Negotiator) and director Jean-François Richet (making his American film debut) have crafted an efficiently entertaining thriller. And while it doesn’t offer much in the way of anything new, it boasts an outstanding cast and tightly-wound direction propelling things forward to a surprisingly satisfying resolution.

Carpenter’s is still the better film, of course. There is no way DeMonaco and Richet could match the kinetic, almost pulsating energy of the first. While motivation for the siege was ambiguously, and terrifyingly, unclear, the stark horror for all involved was so all-encompassing you really believed anything and everything could happen at any given moment. That included the still-shocking murder of an adolescent child, a senseless act that runs the blood so cold it takes a Bunsen Burner to warm it up again.

The closest this films comes to that is during a point-blank execution performed by Byrne, but the victim is sort of an annoying presence throughout the first third so when this happens the effect on an audience isn’t so much shocking as soothing. We’re happy to be rid of them, and even if the act of doing so is repellent, at least they’re not weighing the picture down any more with their performance.

Luckily, Richet has cast this early-season potboiler exceptionally well. Hawke builds upon his character from Training Day, making Roenick a sympathetic and moving character as he struggles within the chaos to regain his honor. Dennehy and Byrne offer good, if overly-familiar, turns while The Sopranos star de Matteo and wily comedic character actor John Leguizamo nearly walk away with the film every time they’re onscreen. But this is Fishburnes’ show, commanding attention with a minimalist performance that’s icy and calculating, telling you more about Bishop with a raised eyebrow than with a four-page monologue. It’s a masterful, intensely delivered performance, one the picture needs to stave off the predictability of where it’s going.

All-in-all, this new Assault on Precinct 13 isn’t a bad way to spend 100-minutes or so. The action is precise and resourcefully staged, the acting is top-notch and the whole thing is filmed in a series of misty blues, piercing whites and striking contrasts they really get under the skin. Even if it does go off the rails a bit during the final ten minutes (and while Carpenter’s original themes are sorely missed), it’s still enjoyable, and for a January sure to be crowded with rejects and missed opportunities that’s the best recommendation of all.

Film Rating: êê1/2  (out of 4)