Assault on Precinct 13
(
2005)
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Jean-Fran�ois Richet
(
WGA)
John Carpenter (earlier film)
James DeMonaco (screenplay)
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Brand New
Authentic U.S. Region 1
U.S. Factory Sealed
Free Shipping
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Genre:
Action /
Drama /
Crime /
Thriller
Tagline: Unite and fight.
Plot Outline: On New Year's Eve, inside a police station that's about to be closed for good,
officer Jake Roenick (Hawke) must cobble together a force made up cops and criminals to save themselves from a
mob looking to kill mobster Marion Bishop (Fishburne).
User Comments: Maybe the third time is the charm for this material, for the latest "Assault"
is a shocking achievement in remake cinema, and a real treat for action/suspense film fans...
User Rating:
6.3/10 (3,618 votes)
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Cast overview, first billed only:
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Ja Rule
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Smiley (as Jeffrey 'Ja Rule' Atkins) |
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Maria Bello
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Alex Sabian |
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Peter Bryant
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Lieut. Ted Holloway |
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Gabriel Byrne
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Marcus Duvall |
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Fulvio Cecere
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Ray Ray |
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Kim Coates
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Rosen |
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Matt Craven
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Capra |
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Courtney Cunningham
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Cop #1 |
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Drea de Matteo
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Iris Ferry |
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Brian Dennehy
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Jasper O'Shea |
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Hugh Dillon
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Tony |
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Laurence Fishburne
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Marion Bishop |
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Tig Fong
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Danny Barbero |
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Darren Frost
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Mover #1 |
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Jasmin Geljo
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Marko |
MPAA: Rated R for strong violence and language throughout, and for some
drug content.
Runtime: 109 min
Country:
USA /
France
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Sound Mix:
DTS /
Dolby Digital
Certification:
Argentina:13 /
Australia:MA /
Brazil:18 /
Canada:13+
(Quebec) /
Canada:18A /
Canada:18A
(Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) /
Finland:K-15 /
France:-12 /
Hong
Kong:IIB /
Ireland:16 /
Netherlands:16 /
Norway:15 /
Peru:14 /
Philippines:R-13
/
Singapore:M18
(uncut version) /
Singapore:NC-16
(cut version) /
UK:15 /
USA:R
Trivia:
Mark Wahlberg was originally offered the role of Jake Roenick but
turned it down. |
User Comments:
65 out of 106 people found the following comment useful:-
Maybe the third time is the charm for this material, for the latest "Assault" is a shocking achievement in
remake cinema, and a real treat for action/suspense film fans...,
17 January 2005
Author:
the unemployed critic
Assault on Precinct 13
On a snowy New Year's Eve in Detroit, criminal kingpin Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne in "Morpheus"
mode again) is being transferred to a maximum-security prison to await trial. When the road conditions
worsen, the police decide to take Bishop and other prisoners (including Ja Rule and a sweaty John Leguizamo)
to remote Precinct 13 to wait out the storm. On the eve of closing up the precinct for good, Sergeant Jake
Roenick (a spunky Ethan Hawke), his officers, and assorted office riff-raff (including Brian Dennehy, Maria
Bello, and Drea de Matteo), are ill-equipped to handle such a notorious figure, and they soon find themselves
in danger when unknown forces surround the precinct demanding Bishop's head. Forced to team up with the
criminals to survive the night, Jake and Bishop form an uneasy alliance, which is put to the test repeatedly
during this bleak and violent standoff.
Even in the remake-happy world of Hollywood right now, "Assault on Precinct 13" is a fairly rare
breed: a remake of a remake. The first "Assault" was Howard Hawks's 1959 western classic, "Rio Bravo," which
then morphed into John Carpenter's 1976 "modern" and hard-boiled reimagining of the tale. The new "Assault"
is another reworking of the central plot, but updates Carpenter's thriller style and ample amounts of
violence rather closely. Maybe the third time is the charm for this material, for the latest "Assault" is a
shocking achievement in remake cinema, and a real treat for action/suspense film fans.
French director Jean-Francois Richet, making his English-language debut, comes out of seemingly
nowhere to propel "Assault" forward with his tightly wound direction and unwritten pledge to keep the script
startlingly honest to the situation. As a guns-blazing action film, "Assault" is riveting entertainment, with
a sharp pace that doesn't allow for many opportunities to exhale, and a refreshing, striking blizzard-caked
urban landscape to amplify the claustrophobia and confusion during the siege. The picture keeps the audience
at the edge of its seat by creating a unique atmosphere of genuine threat between the battling foes, adding
to the idea that any character could be killed at any given moment a promise that is kept. I haven't seen
that in a film in a long time. It does wonders to keep the stench of age in the story from creeping in and
choking the experience.
Richet also holds a remarkable amount of respect for his violence. With high-tech weaponry and a rap
"star" in the cast, on the outside, "Assault" doesn't look all that different from any other thriller from
the past decade; however, Richet miraculously doesn't pull his punches, and "Assault" doesn't dodge the
grisliness and dread of the situation. The film is enormously violent, sometime grotesquely so (the icicle
death from "Die Hard 2" is recreated here), and the script features enough cursing to overbook a Caribbean
cruise. But in a cinematic world where every movie is being watered down just so "Timmy Preteen" can spend
his lawn-mowing money on the latest feature film, it's a joy to see a gritty, take-few-prisoners film like
"Assault," and a relief to see it come together so magnificently. This is accomplished R-rated entertainment,
and superb, unexpected film-making. "Assault on Precinct 13" is a rare January treat. ----- 9/10
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