Assault on Precinct 13 DVD Review:

New Years Eve and Detroit Police station, Precinct 13 is about to close as snowstorms envelop the city. Sergeant Jake Roenick (Hawke), retiring officer Jasper O'Shea (Dennehy) and secretary Iris Ferry (de Matteo) are the only people on duty when despatch informs them that a prison transport has been routed to the precinct because the roads are becoming more treacherous as the storm takes a firmer grip. On that transport happens to be Detroit’s most notorious criminal Marion Bishop (Fishburne) and as he is placed in the cells of Precinct 13, assault teams surround the station determined to get inside but are they here to rescue Bishop or take him out.

As Hollywood struggles for ideas, the remake bandwagon continues with a new version of John Carpenter’s low budget cult classic but can this actually improve on the 1976 original?

While it might not be as gritty or gruesome as the original, this is a remake that is still a good movie in its own right. This is all due to old school, realistic violence of the film. With no slow motion, fancy camera tricks, wire fighting or computer graphics, this feels like an old-fashioned action flick that would have gone down well in the 70s and early 80s. The action is bloody, with stabbings, bullets to the head and executions and while they might not be a gratuitous as they might have been in the 70s and 80s, this is still a lot more gory than the current batch new millennium action movies.

The story is basic but it is the characters that draw you in. The coming together of criminals and police officers to fight for their lives is a great premise and a boiling pot for friction and mistrust. They have to trust each other to stay alive but there is always the feeling that when the opportunity arises, the criminals will stab their captors in the back and this adds to the tension.

The performances from an excellent ensemble cast only increase the tension and realism of the piece. Ethan Hawke doesn’t really make bad movies and his performance as guilt ridden Sergeant Jake Roenick is another fine one by the accomplished actor. This part could have been so easily over the top in the hands of a lesser actor but Hawke makes the character believeable and easy to connect with. Laurence Fishburne is another great actor who brings a real menace to Marion Bishop. This is a character that is both intriguing and deadly, a clever, calculated psychopath who you would be a fool to trust. Fishburne excels in roles like this and this character is no different. Gabriel Byrne is just as sinister as Marcus Duvall, the man who wants to get inside Precinct 13. This is a role that Byrne can play in his sleep but he still makes him memorable.

The supporting cast is also good. Maria Bello plays therapist Alex Sabian who becomes panic stricken as the mayhem breaks out. Drea de Matteo is her usual sassy self with another memorable role. John Leguizamo is suitable creepy as drug addict Beck and it is good to see Brian Dennehy return to mainstream cinema.

The remake of ‘Assault on Precinct 13’ might not have the same impact as the original but this is still an entertaining action flick. With good characters backed up by excellent performances, this is an old school action movie that will grip you from the start and not let go until the explosive finale.

Star Rating = * * *

BONUS FEATURES

Armed and Dangerous (4.52 mins)

‘Assault on Precinct 13’ weapons specialist Charles Taylor takes you into his ‘gun truck’ to show you some of the guns used on the movie. We see the guns that the different members of the cast received and the tactical machine guns used by the commando making the assault.

Behind the Precinct Walls (7.26 mins)

Production designer Paul Austerberry takes you behind the scenes of the precinct, sewer tunnel, prison cell and evidence room sets designed for ‘Assault on Precinct 13’. He talks about the design process for sets showcasing development and the 3D computer models used to map the scenes out.

Plan of Attack (4.24 mins)

Stunt Coordinator Steve Lucescu talks about making the action sequences in ‘Assault on Precinct 13’ as realistic as possible. Showing you the gun fights, car crashes and fire burns, the featurette takes you behind the scenes of the actor’s training and how they participated in many of the stunts.

The Assault Team (5.14 mins)

Director Jean-Francois Richet, producer Jeffrey Silver and screenwriter James Demonaco talk about remaking the John Carpenter classic. They discuss bringing realism to the film and not filling it with over the top ‘Hollywood’ action that has plagued many an action film in the past.

Deleted Scenes (6.08 mins)

These five deleted scenes show more of the prisoners in their cells, more character interaction, the group trying to contain the situation and more of Marcus Duvall and his commando team. Some of these scenes are very good but without an introduction or commentary track, we don’t know why they were removed.

Caught in the Crosshairs: Behind the Scenes of Precinct 13 (12.32 mins)

Director Jean-Francois Richet, producer Jeffrey Silver, screenwriter James Demonaco and stars Ethan Hawk, Lawrence Fishburne, Maria Bello, Drea de Matteo, Ja Rule, John Leguizamo, Aisha Hinds and Brian Dennehy take you behind the scenes of the remake of ‘Assault on Precinct 13’. The filmmakers and the stars talk about the preperation and training that went into the film and they talk about the characters, storyline and setting of the film, emphasising the realism of the piece.

OVERALL

By concentrating on the more technical aspects of the production, the bonus features on this DVD release are a lot more interesting that the usual cast interviews and pats on the back as the actors and filmmakers effuse on how good the movie is and what a pleasure it was to work with everyone. This makes for a lot more interesting viewing and some good featurettes. The exclusion of a commentary track is a bit poor however, but the other bonus features do slightly make up for this, making fans quite happy with the release.



Jamie Kelwick

I often find myself getting irritated with the excessive amount of films re-made after only fifteen years of the original’s release. In many cases the remake only shames the original, which no audiences even seem to be aware of in the first place. The danger only increases when the film being remade is already a great film. There doesn’t seem to be anywhere to go, and very few reasons to make the remake. The 2005 version of Assault on Precinct 13 may be a perfect example, however, of why to remake a great film. Playing off of the well defined concept from John Carpenter’s original film, this version uses a style which is unique to the current generation of film watchers.

After an undercover assignment goes horribly wrong for Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke) and members of his team are killed, he holes himself up in the small run-down Precinct 13, just outside of Detroit. Roenick wants a calmer life where he isn’t responsible for anyone’s life, but he doesn’t get that wish when the Precinct is filled with some of the worst criminals during a snow storm, and subsequently attacked by a group of heavily armed men. The gang is after one of the criminals in the precinct, Marion Bishop, played by Laurence Fishburne. In order to survive, the cops must join forces with the prisoners, creating a three way game of tug-of-war which nearly guarantees plenty of carnage.

Assault understands how to draw the audience into the action immediately, both thanks to director Richet’s ability to capture reality, and the cast’s ability to make each scene believable. From the very first scene, which is gritty and intense, I was drawn in for the remainder of the film. Somehow the action managed to seem raw and intense, without losing any of the amazing and awe-inspiring cinematography. Assault begins with a rough opening which looks and feels cramped and panic-stricken, and closes with a wonderfully shot segment in snow covered woods. Because of the fact that the rest of the film takes place in the precinct, special attention seems to have been given to these two scenes.

The action in Assault is fast paced and more direct than the original was, which it had to be with audience’s expectations these days. Somehow this isn’t the main reason it works though. The main reason that the action is so successful is because of the intensity the situation carries once we know the characters, which are well developed. At first it seemed as though the film was going to be another Con Air, with the introduction of characters such as Smiley and Beck, played by John Leguizamo and Ja Rule, but a sense of realism was relentlessly pursued, even when it meant the demise of an innocent character. This realism captured the silliness of some of the characters, making the whole production come together in a strange web of entertainment, suspense, and visceral jaw dropping action.

The Assault on Precinct 13 DVD comes jam-packed with over forty minutes of special features, many of which are fairly good. Although the deleted scenes are fairly unimportant and can be skipped, there are any number of featurettes to satisfy your personal interest. There is a short Featurette on the weapons of Assault, which shows the interesting procedure for finding weapons which fit specific characters. There are also features examining the stunts, production design, and the inspiration behind the film, but perhaps the best feature is the special which aired on HBO. None of the features are boring, which is fitting for the film. Assault on Precinct 13 is one of the very few action films to be made in the past few years that is entertaining without forcing us to check our brain at the door if we want to enjoy it.



Ryan Izay