Release Date:
01/21/2005
Hey, it's not a holiday in Detroit unless something's on fire! And Assault on Precinct 13 blows into the Rock City with more explosions than Lethal Weapon 1, 2, and 3, but sadly, makes you long for the plot and character development of Lethal Weapon 5.
The shit goes down when a powerful criminal, Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne), and a few bumbling bit criminals played by Ja Rule and John Leguizamo are transferred to a crumbling, dilapidated police precinct in the middle of Nowhere, Michigan, on New Year's Eve. The station is woefully understaffed, run by disillusioned police Sgt. Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke)complete with the requisite pill-popping and blatant alcoholismhis sexy secretary (Drea De Matteo), and a decidedly less-sexy cop (Brian Dennehy). Before you can say "What's not sexy about Brian Dennehy?" the precinct is surrounded by criminals intent on breaking Bishop out at any cost. From here, the action kicks into overdrive, and with its exploding buses, whizzing bullets, and gruesome deaths, Precinct 13 comes packing heat. Unfortunately, the rest of the story stalls, trampling over well-worn action-movie conventions (it is a remake after all) and conveniently introducing bit characters only to off them a few frames later.
Despite its shortcomings, Larry Fishburne is so brilliantly ruthless as the cold-blooded criminal you may be inspired to knock over a liquor store on your way home from the theater. Plus, the R rating allows for some of the most gory kill footage this side of CNN, including a thoroughly amusing tag-team murder between Leguizamo and Rule. Ultimately, though, Precinct 13 is overcrowded with more tedious standoffs than even Quentin Tarantino could reasonably bear, coupled with a whole cell block's worth of needless side stories, leaving too many lulls for its spilled blood and brains to overcome.
The shit goes down when a powerful criminal, Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne), and a few bumbling bit criminals played by Ja Rule and John Leguizamo are transferred to a crumbling, dilapidated police precinct in the middle of Nowhere, Michigan, on New Year's Eve. The station is woefully understaffed, run by disillusioned police Sgt. Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke)complete with the requisite pill-popping and blatant alcoholismhis sexy secretary (Drea De Matteo), and a decidedly less-sexy cop (Brian Dennehy). Before you can say "What's not sexy about Brian Dennehy?" the precinct is surrounded by criminals intent on breaking Bishop out at any cost. From here, the action kicks into overdrive, and with its exploding buses, whizzing bullets, and gruesome deaths, Precinct 13 comes packing heat. Unfortunately, the rest of the story stalls, trampling over well-worn action-movie conventions (it is a remake after all) and conveniently introducing bit characters only to off them a few frames later.
Despite its shortcomings, Larry Fishburne is so brilliantly ruthless as the cold-blooded criminal you may be inspired to knock over a liquor store on your way home from the theater. Plus, the R rating allows for some of the most gory kill footage this side of CNN, including a thoroughly amusing tag-team murder between Leguizamo and Rule. Ultimately, though, Precinct 13 is overcrowded with more tedious standoffs than even Quentin Tarantino could reasonably bear, coupled with a whole cell block's worth of needless side stories, leaving too many lulls for its spilled blood and brains to overcome.