An about-to-close police station sees more activity than ever before when it’s ambushed from the outside, and the cops inside must band together with their handful of prisoners in order to survive the night. This scenario was established for John Carpenter’s pre-HALLOWEEN cult hit ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 in 1976, and now is used once again for the remake, directed by French newcomer Jean-François Richet. 

The major change in the films is that instead of having the station under attack by an L.A. street gang out to spring their jailed pal, the remake has the threat take the form of crooked cops wanting to kill hardened criminal Laurence Fishburne – who knows of their dirty doings – on a very snowy New Year’s Eve before he can testify against them.

But the Seconol-addicted precinct sergeant – played by Ethan Hakwe – isn’t going to let that happen. Or at least not without a fight. After the place is pounded with bullets from Gabriel Byrne and his bad po-po posse, Hawke ever reluctantly allows his four prisoners (including tweaker John Leguizamo and two-bit thief Ja Rule) out of their basement holding cells and arms them. As Fishburne says, it’s a move akin to putting “our ***censored*** on pause.”

Hawke and Fishburne turn in fine work that elevates it ever so slightly above your standard B-fare, even if they haven’t informed the supporting cast – which includes everyone from cute Maria Bello to hatchet-faced Drea de Matteo to hammy (in more ways than one) Brian Dennehy.

Though it lacks the original’s cleverness and can’’t match its level of suspense, the remake ups the ante in the brutality department (even without a recreation of the first flick’s famed ice-cream scene). Acts of violence are gorier, even to the point – at least in one scene – to where it borders on nihilism. This is a film that gets off on high-tech hardware and weaponry, filmed with a super-sharp crispness to emphasize that this is not your Carpenter’s low-budget ASSAULT.

But who says it has to be? As much as I like Carpenter’’s crime classic, I liked this one, too. Granted it’s not in the same league, but it’’s entertainment that is slick and satisfying, more often than not.

---

Review by: Rod Lott