The story takes place in a police station that is about to be closed down. It is New Years Eve and the city of Detroit has been struck by a severe snowstorm.  Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke), a burnt-out ex-undercover agent, is in charge of the almost abandoned Precinct 13, as he, soon to be retired Jasper O'Shea (Brian Dennehy), and the precincts sexy secretary, Iris (Drea de Matteo), plan on pack some boxes for the move and have a couple of drinks while celebrating the New Year.  Earlier during the same day, the police successfully apprehended the stone cold police killer and gangster Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne).  The police intend to move him to a more secure location over the night along with three other criminals.  However, the snowstorm prevents police transport to reach its location, as they decide to take shelter at police precinct 13.  The storm begins to increase in intensity and snow makes it hard to travel.  George Romero once created a similar scenario in Night of the Living Dead (1968), which gets a modern makeover treatment in this film.

The snow ceaselessly continues to fall while Jake and his fellow police officers and newly arrived criminals realize that someone is trying to break into the police station.  It leads to a situation where snipers, heavily armed thugs, and someone who will not stop until all of them are dead take action. In the process they surround the police station in order to prevent anyone from getting away.  The idea of surrounding someone and having a shoot out until no one is left standing is a cinematic concept that could have been seen in several Westerns with John Wayne as the hero such as Rio Bravo (1959).  Nonetheless, Assault on Precinct 13 brings a modern version of the Western that still has some firepower for the audience, as it still induces some suspense and tolerable action.

Besides the main theme, there are several side plots such as Jake is seeing a therapist due to an event from the opening of the film.  This therapist is no other than Alex Sabian (Maria Bello) with whom Jake aggressively flirts.  The other criminals offer another interesting dimension to the film.  These characters are Smily (Ja Rule), who always refers to himself through his name, Beck (John Leguizamo), a speed mouth that never shuts up, and Anna (Aisha Hind), a self-proclaimed innocent with trigger-happy finger.  Together all of the characters offer interesting side plots, tension, and suspense, as they are willing to do anything to stay alive until dawn.

Overall, Assault on Precinct 13 offers a decent action thriller; however, there are some problematic moments in the film.   For example, using a big actor such as Gabriel Byrne prompts the audience to consider why he is in the film, which could affect the film experience if the audience begins to deduce the reason for why he is in the film.  A scene that was cool in 1990 in Die Hard 2 reappears in this film, where someone uses a sharp ice sickle to pierce into the head through the eye.  Also, there are some additional scenes that lack chemistry, which makes some scenes feel awkward and forced.  Besides these awkward moments, Laurence Fishburne and Ethan Hawke’s performances are outstanding, as this remake ends up with a good escape away from real life monotony into something more suspenseful.

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COUNTRY

USA / France

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