Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)

If you were hoping for an avant-garde action movie produced by a Frenchman, think again - Richet is no Luc Besson.The actual action, by itself, is decent at most, and that's the only thing going for this movie.Actors performances are lackluster, screen writing is sloppy and lazy, suffering from lack of continuity and a formulaic plot, with twists so obvious, I foresaw them literally an hour before they eventually took place.Characters are superficial and stereotypical, and fail to promote empathy, sympathy, or any other sentiments for them. Decisions and actions made by the characters (both "good guys" and "bad guys") often fail to make any sense.

For some reason I never got around to watching "Assault on Precinct 13" until ten years after it was released. Why? Well, I can't claim to be overly much a fan of Ethan Hawke or Lawrence Fishburne. And it wasn't until I saw it shown on TV that I actually sat down to watch this movie.There are some pretty good talents on the cast list aside from Ethan Hawke and Lawrence Fishburne; talents that include John Leguizamo, Brian Dennehy and Gabriel Byrne. I actually didn't know that John Leguizamo was in this movie before seeing him, and he alone would make it worthwhile watching.There certainly was a lot of violence throughout the movie, which does spice up the enjoyment of the movie quite a lot.And while the story was leaning towards being fairly shallow and simplistic, then some good acting performances and the action did more than weigh up for the lack of storyline.All in all, an alright crime action movie. It doesn't put your mind on any challenge, but it is still an enjoyable movie.

I've not seen the original film - yet - so I've nothing to compare this remake to, but if the original is as enjoyable as this then I'll be looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about. I know remakes can get battered by a lot of people true to the original films, but instead of complaining about them, I like to have an open mind, and it's only after watching them I'll comment.Not all remakes/reboots are bad.Anyway, this version of Assault on Precinct 13 is a very decent action/thriller that's (mostly) well scripted, well filmed, and very well acted. I say "mostly" with regard to the well scripted comment because there were a couple of moments where the dialogue was a bit cheesy. Thankfully it was only mild cheese instead of full blown blue stilton. Then again, I guess you can't have an action film without at least some cheese. Other than that, however, the film is written well enough with a nice wee twist at the end.One thing that can sometimes be ignored in a lot of action films is the cinematography but with this film I enjoyed some of the outdoor scenes with the way the makers set the tone & atmosphere using the weather. It's not a huge thing and it is subtle but for me it was a nice touch.The main cast all give solid performances, from John Leguizamo's portrayal as Beck, a somewhat amusing (yet slightly annoying at the same time) small-time crook, to Laurence Fishburne's role of Marion Bishop, a more calculating & menacing mob boss.For me, the only unrealistic element of the film was the amount of police that ended up being involved. I mean the initial group led by Gabriel Byrne is understandable given the circumstances, but in the end it just went a bit over-the-top. But, this IS an action film and not a documentary, so, again, unrealistic moments are to be expected and it's not as if it ruins the experience.As long as you're not naive to expect something fantastic, then you should find this film enjoyable enough.

On New Year's Eve In Detroit police manage to catch Bishop, a dangerous gangster which is known to kill a cop. He is transferred to a maximum security prison but due to storms are forced to stop in section 13 who is Chief Jake who manages to overcome a difficult moment when a few months ago in a mission because of his wrong orders a few people were killed. At this point he and his team are obliged to take the detainees in cells but inside are appearing a few masked mans and cops think it is Bishop 's friends who came to get him out of there but later learn that they are some cops actually who wants the gangster dead because it holds some valuable information about them and that might incriminate the dirty cops if they are disclosed. Now Jake is forced to ally with the prisoners to keep up and prevent them from reaching Bishop but occurs a few unexpected surprises.A film which action is not absent, has a good dose of mystery and good performances from Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne. It should not be missed.