Assault on Precinct 13

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Assault on Precinct 13 - 4/11/2005 12:55:26 PM

Empire Admin

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pretty damn good - 25/2/2006 8:07:05 PM

darkninja7

Posts: 9
Joined: 17/1/2006

its not gonna be a classic but well worth a watch. intelligent script and nerve wracking set pieces make this a pretty damn good watch.

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Post #: 2

- 15/4/2006 11:09:19 AM

Rhubarb

Posts: 24398
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: No Direction Home

i found it really tense, and a good way to spend an evening!

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Post #: 3

Assault on Precinct 13 - 27/7/2006 9:31:21 PM

qualidad

Posts: 133
Joined: 22/11/2005

Cliched and unoriginal. How original does it have to be? More original than this. Characters were by the book with not a surprise anywhere to be seen. Great cast but unimaginitive direction. Miss.

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Post #: 4

- 25/9/2006 8:01:46 PM

casino

Posts: 206
Joined: 26/5/2006

very good remake

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Post #: 5

- 29/1/2009 5:39:50 PM

PureAinmhi

Posts: 94
Joined: 16/11/2008
From: Ireland

I've never seen the original version of this film so I can't really judge it in comparison to that.
I know that some reviews of this film will inevitably compare it with the original but because I haven't seen it I take this remake as it is.
I really enjoyed this film. From the opening scene, right to the last.
Dialogue may not be top notch but let's face it, this film is not about dialogue. The action speaks for itself.

Lots of guns and lots of bullets flying left right and centre but the stand out scene for me is the climax scene while they're in the forest. Great tension and anticipation.

Well worth watching.

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Post #: 6

Very Average - 24/4/2012 3:52:45 PM

petethejakey

Posts: 23
Joined: 15/12/2011

This Review Contains Spoilers.

Assault On Precinct 13 starts out good in a mostly unrelated sequence, despite a female cop character showing a complete lack of common sense in the combat field - namely standing out in the open and not taking cover when you know there's a maniac with a gun about.

Things quickly move on to a snowy, Winter setting where a bunch of crooked cops are trying to kill 'Bad-Morpheus' who's inside Precinct 13 (obviously). Lawrence Fishburne doesn�t deviate much from his 'Matrix' character. Although he has hair in this, and is bad.

The crooked cops, while nasty, are pretty pathetic when it comes to killing, I mean how do you not see or hear people constantly walking up to you with guns and/or flaming cocktails? They prefer to sneak in one or two at a time like Harry and Marv from Home Alone, and get their asses kicked, instead of throwing in all the explosives they've got. With the exception of one horrible scene which shows the cold efficiency of the head bad-guy (more on that later), they�re pretty hopeless. In all fairness, the �good guys� can also be dumb, going outside when they know there are snipers, etc.

Sadly Ethan Hawk is a little bland here. It doesn't help that his character's name is 'Jake', same as it was in the FAR superior Training Day. The twists in that film were surprising, the ones here can be seen a mile away (oh HE was in on it?)

So at the end a bunch of dumb-ass things happen - the head bad guy forgets that he's a cold killer and doesn't bother shooting to kill anymore, then lets himself be killed. Bad Morpheus limps off with a bullet hole in his belly and we're expected to believe he'll escape, despite a bunch of good cops showing up 2 minutes later to scout the area. And the actress from TV's 'Joey' says something like "wow you're pretty fucking bad-ass" to Ethan Hawk, although I'd have thought she'd be more than a little scarred for life after the night's activ

< Message edited by petethejakey -- 25/4/2012 10:43:17 AM >

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Post #: 7

Very Average (Part 2) - 24/4/2012 3:56:41 PM

petethejakey

Posts: 23
Joined: 15/12/2011

...activities, but never mind.

Ethan Hawk also shows no remorse or sadness at the end for all the poor people that died (including the lovely woman who was helping him with his therapy -- although the skank survives!! Yay), and the film ends without even properly resolving the �story�. (i.e. why is Jake so casual and "cool" at the end - mostly everyone just died in his protection. And if Bad-Morpheus isn't around to give the statement ratting out all the bad cops, wouldn't Jake be under arrest for murdering a bunch of cops? At least until an investigation could be made...). The loose ends are forgotten about in favour of a quick ending. As if to say, hey the action's stopped, The End.

There are some good points � the opening, the settings, the guns, the slick direction, and the film is actually okay to watch once, but thanks to some of the silly aspects I've mentioned, the film just doesn�t hold up to repeat viewings without groans.

Perhaps if the score resembled classic John Carpenter, or if things weren't so darn depressing and dull, and stupid, it may have been more memorable. 2 stars out of 5.

< Message edited by petethejakey -- 25/4/2012 10:54:32 AM >

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Post #: 8

RE: Very Average (Part 2) - 11/10/2012 4:11:42 PM

Phubbs

Posts: 660
Joined: 3/4/2012

Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)

The first Carpenter remake released in 05, the year of the Carpenter remakes. Amazingly this isn't a shot for shot remake but actually a reasonable attempt at something slightly different. Must give kudos to the script writer/s for trying a new angle with the plot to add a touch of originality.

Its pretty much the same type of film as before accept this time the cops and crooks holed up within Precinct 13 are against crooked cops who want one of the convicts inside dead. Nice twist.

You don't really expect that to be honest, I just expected the same old thing with a load of gang thugs but this adds a new dimension. The fact its a whole team of crooked cops led by the nasty Byrne is really good. Bryne merely stands around and sneers a lot ordering his men to do stuff, but his presence really boosts the bad guys, faceless no more.

The good guys are now of course a group of big names but the choices are OK. Hawke is the Sgt in charge of the station and Dennehy is the cliched fat old moustached vet cop, whilst Fishburne leads the bad guys with Leguizamo doing another good twitchy gun nut.

On one hand this is a fun film, plenty of decent action, pretty violent, good visuals and good performances from the main leads. On the other hand it does get silly in places, very predictable of course and feels like they are trying too hard. I did wonder if they were having a swearing competition throughout, how many times can you say 'f**k'!?, as if that will make the film better saying it a hundred times.

The main issue is the simple plot point of a small group of convicts and beat cops up against a crack team of elite cops. Not just dumbass thugs but fully suited special ops type guys, yet they can't seem to crack this band of misfits, all of them end up getting killed! so much for elite cops huh.

This is a fairly decent action romp I can't deny, stupid in places and with a slightly lame finale but its fun to watch. A slightly different beast to the original which is good but at the same time you lose the mystery and suspense of the original. The unknown lurking shadows in the bushes of the originals bad guys.

There is a lot of stuff which has been tossed in here to flesh the whole thing out a bit more. Trying to make the film feel more of a serious Hollywood action thriller but its all pointless and not required, the beginning sequence especially. Think of this as a venture into 'Die Hard 2' territory, snow included.

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Post #: 9

RE: Assault on Precinct 13 - 11/10/2012 4:38:59 PM

paulyboy

Posts: 2150
Joined: 30/9/2005

The original is one of those early Carpenter films that gets by on mood and atmosphere more than anything else, so the remake is quite hard to compare really.

It's not bad though, decent cast and some nice moments here and there, but it all becomes very predictable eventually.

Watchable.

3/5

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Post #: 10