Assault on Precinct 13 (2005 film)

Assault on Precinct 13 is a 2005 French-American action thriller film directed by Jean-François Richet and starring Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne. The cast also includes John Leguizamo, Maria Bello, Ja Rule, Drea de Matteo, Brian Dennehy, Aisha Hinds and Gabriel Byrne. It is a loose remake of John Carpenter's 1976 film of the same name, with an updated plot.

Assault on Precinct 13
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJean-Francois Richet
Produced byPascal Caucheteux
Jeffrey Silver
Stephane Sperry
Written byJames DeMonaco
Based onAssault on Precinct 13 written by John Carpenter
Starring
Music byGraeme Revell
CinematographyRobert Gantz
Edited byBill Pankow
Distributed byRogue Pictures
Release date
January 19, 2005 (2005-01-19) (United States)
March 2, 2005 (2005-03-02) (France)
Running time
109 minutes
CountryFrance
United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million
Box office$35.3 million[1]

Plot

On New Year's Eve, Detroit Police Department's Sergeant Jake Roenick, veteran cop Jasper O'Shea and secretary Iris Ferry are the only people on site at the soon-to-be-closed Precinct 13. Roenick, a former Marine, is deskbound and abusing alcohol and prescription drugs, blaming himself for a botched undercover operation eight months prior that resulted in the deaths of two members of his team. Psychiatrist Alexandra Sabian is treating a reluctant and dismissive Roenick at the station.

Crime lord Marion Bishop is arrested when he kills an undercover police officer. Two Sheriff's Department Deputies are transferring Bishop with three other criminals: addict ex-lawyer Beck, petty crook Anna, and counterfeiter Smiley. When a raging snowstorm shuts down the roads, the transport bus is directed to the nearby Precinct 13.

Masked gunmen cut off the Precinct's communication, attack the station, kill the Deputies and demand Bishop be handed over to them. The lawmen believe the attackers are Bishop's men. When they kill one of the attackers, they discover he is from a crew of undercover officers led by Captain Marcus Duvall of Precinct 21. Rather than trying to avenge the cop that Bishop murdered, they are actually Bishop's crooked partners in crime. Bishop balked when Duvall and his crew demanded a larger cut, so Duvall and his men (starting with the original dead cop) are trying to kill Bishop before he can testify about their involvement.

Heavily outnumbered and outgunned, Roenick sets free and arms the prisoners to bolster the defense of the station. Roenick and Bishop forge an uneasy truce between cops and criminals, as both groups know they will be killed by Duvall to protect his secret. Their combined efforts repel several more attacks.

Off-duty cop Capra, who has been partying and wants to make a move on Iris, returns to the station. Duvall's men shoot at him, but he makes it into the Precinct. Beck believes that Capra is a plant for Duvall, but Roenick vouches for him. Beck doesn't believe him and tries to attempt a mutiny, but Bishop sides with Roenick and forcefully reminds Beck that Roenick is in charge. With Capra's vehicle outside the front door, Beck and Smiley secretly plan to make a break for it. At the same time, the rest of the defenders are also planning to use the vehicle, with Anna and Dr. Sabian volunteering to be the driver and "gunman" in an effort to get help. Beck and Smiley happen to sneak out first, both getting killed by Duvall's men, inadvertently providing a distraction for Anna and Sabian to get away. Duvall had anticipated this and hidden Kahane, his second in command, in the back seat. Kahane kills Anna, then Duvall kills Sabian after she refuses to give intel on Precinct 13's defenders.

With only five defenders left alive, Roenick and Bishop decide to take action instead of waiting for another attack. When someone inside unlocks the back door, they suspect Capra to be a mole for Duvall and put him in handcuffs.

The storm eases just enough to allow Duvall to call in some corrupt SWAT officers by helicopter, who land on the roof of Precinct 13. The defenders set fire to the station to cover their escape and flee through a utilities tunnel underneath the building. Emerging from the tunnel, they find themselves surrounded by the corrupt policemen. The real Duvall insider is revealed to be O'Shea, and Duvall prepares to execute the rest. Bishop secretly plants a flash bang grenade on O'Shea, killing him. In the confusion Iris and Capra flee in Duvall's truck. When Kahane shoots out their tires and moves in for the kill, Iris manages to kill him with his own knife.

Roenick and Bishop are chased into a small urban forest, where they work together to survive the final confrontation with Duvall and his remaining men. Duvall wounds both of them before Roenick finally manages to kill Duvall. Bishop, more mobile of the two, takes Roenick's gun and flees, with Roenick promising to personally arrest him in the future. When Iris arrives with police, fire and medical services, Roenick claims that only he and the dead cops are present – giving Bishop a head start. Roenick and Iris leave the forest as the sun rises. Iris mentions to Roenick that he was like a totally different person through the whole encounter. Roenick, smiling, replies, "Yeah? Well get used to it."

Cast

Production

Assault on Precinct 13 was mostly filmed on location in Detroit, as well as in Ontario, Canada (Toronto and Hamilton).

Critical reception and box office

The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with a 59% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the site's critical consensus being "This remake has been praised by some as an expertly made B-movie, and dismissed by others as formulaic",[2] and a metascore of 54 on Metacritic.[3]

Assault on Precinct 13 was not financially successful, and was widely considered a box office failure; made on a budget of $30 million, it went on to earn $35.3 million worldwide.[1]

See also

References
  1. "Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) - Box Office Mojo". Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  2. "Assault on Precinct 13 Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  3. "Assault on Precinct 13 Reviews at Metacritic.com". Retrieved 2009-10-19.
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