''Assault on Precinct 13'' is a 2005

action thriller Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...

film directed by

Jean-François Richet Jean-François Richet (born 1966) is a French screenwriter, director, and producer. He grew up in Meaux, a suburb east of Paris. Select filmography * '' Inner City'' (1995) – named at the César Awards 1996 in the Best Debut category. * ...

and starring

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

and

Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...

. The cast also includes

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (; ; born July 22, 196013:04) is an American actor, comedian, and film producer. He has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, made over 30 television appearances, and has produced ...

, Maria Bello, Ja Rule,

Drea de Matteo Andrea Donna de Matteo is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Adriana La Cerva on the HBO television drama ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2006), for which she received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress i ...

Brian Dennehy Brian Manion Dennehy (; July 9, 1938 – April 15, 2020) was an American actor of stage, television, and film. He won two Tony Awards, an Olivier Award, and a Golden Globe, and received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Dennehy had roles i ...

, and

Gabriel Byrne Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, audiobook narrator, and author. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined London's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's s ...

. It is a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the sam ...

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

's 1976 film of the same name.

Plot

Following a failed sting operation in which two fellow undercover officers are killed months prior,

Detroit Police Department The Detroit Police Department (DPD) is a municipal police force based in and responsible for the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1865, it has nearly 2,500 officers, making it the largest law enforcement organization in Michigan. Histo ...

Sergeant Jake Roenick begins to regularly abuse alcohol and painkillers while clinging to his unambitious assignment as a desk sergeant at Precinct 13, which is due to be decommissioned. On New Year's Eve, Roenick, officer Jasper O'Shea, and secretary Iris Ferry maintain a skeleton shift. Psychiatrist Alexandra Sabian arrives to evaluate Roenick's fitness for duty. Crime boss Marion Bishop is arrested after killing an undercover policeman, and is set to be transferred to prison with three other criminals: Beck, Anna, and Smiley. When a snowstorm shuts down the roads, the prison transport is diverted to Precinct 13, where an unprepared Roenick places the prisoners in cells. Masked gunmen cut off the precinct's communications and electricity, and attack the station, killing the deputies before demanding that Bishop be handed over. Roenick kills one of the attackers and finds he is an undercover cop working under Captain Marcus Duvall of Precinct 21. Bishop explains that Duvall and his team are corrupt and were formerly his business partners. They now plan to eliminate him to preserve their secret. The precinct staff and criminals form an uneasy truce. Heavily outnumbered and outgunned, Roenick releases the prisoners and arms them to help defend the precinct. Their combined efforts repel several more attacks, eventually leading to a stalemate. Another officer, Capra, arrives and is shot at by the corrupt officers, but makes it inside, but Bishop suspects him of being sent by Duvall when he discovers an unlocked back entrance. Beck and Smiley meanwhile secretly conspire to escape; simultaneously, the rest of the defenders plan for Anna and Sabian to escape in Capra's SUV. When Beck and Smiley sneak out, they are killed by Duvall's men, providing the distraction which allows Anna and Sabian to drive off but they are ambushed by Duvall’s right-hand man Kahane; who kills Anna, having been hiding in the back seat, whilst Duvall kills Sabian after she refuses to cooperate. When the snowfall subsides, Duvall calls in a corrupt

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

team who land on the roof of the precinct. The defenders flee through a utilities tunnel underneath the building. Emerging from the tunnel, they find themselves surrounded by Duvall's men. The traitor is revealed to be O'Shea and not Capra. As Duvall prepares to execute the others, Bishop secretly plants a flash bang grenade on O'Shea, mortally wounding him. In the confusion, Iris and Capra flee in Duvall's SUV. Kahane shoots out the tires, causing the vehicle to crash and knock Capra unconscious, but Iris manages to kill Kahane after a struggle. Duvall chases Roenick and Bishop into a nearby forest where they ambush and kill the remaining forces, however Duvall shoots and wounds Bishop before being killed by Roenick, who is himself injured in the process. Following this, an injured Bishop takes Roenick's gun and flees, and Roenick promises to personally arrest him in the future. When Iris arrives with police and firemen, Roenick claims that only he and Duvall's gang are present, knowing that Bishop can't go too far. As the authorities secure the area, Roenick and Iris leave the forest as the sun rises.

Cast

as Sergeant Jake Roenick *

as Marion Bishop *

as Beck * Maria Bello as Dr. Alex Sabian * Jeffrey "Ja Rule" Atkins as Smiley *

as Iris Ferry *

Matt Craven Matt may refer to: * Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) * Matt, Switzerland, a ...

as Officer Kevin Capra *

as Officer Jasper O'Shea *

as Captain Marcus Duvall *

Kim Coates Kim F. Coates (born February 21, 1958) is a Canadian–American actor who has worked in both Canadian and American films and television series. He has worked on Broadway portraying Stanley Kowalski in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' and in the lead ...

as Deputy Rosen *

Dorian Harewood Dorian Harewood (born August 6, 1950) is an American actor, best known for playing Jesse Owens in '' The Jesse Owens Story'' (1984), Paul Strobber on '' Strike Force'' (1981–1982), and Rev. Morgan Hamilton in '' 7th Heaven'' (1996–2003). E ...

as Deputy Gil *

Currie Graham Currie Graham (born February 26, 1967) is a Canadian stage, film and television actor. While primarily recognized as a TV actor, he has numerous film credits, including the action thrillers ''Rancid'' (2004) and ''Assault on Precinct 13'' (200 ...

as Lieutenant Mike Kahane *

Fulvio Cecere Fulvio Cecere (born March 11, 1960) is a Canadian actor and filmmaker. Early life Born in Canada, he moved to Hawthorne, New Jersey as a teenager and attended Hawthorne High School, graduating as part of the class of 1978. Cecere attended South ...

as Officer Ray Portnell * Titus Welliver as Milos *

Aisha Hinds Aisha Jamila Hinds is an American television, stage and film actress. She had supporting roles in a number of television series, include ''The Shield'', '' Invasion'', '' True Blood'', ''Detroit 1-8-7'' and '' Under the Dome''. In 2016, she playe ...

as Anna

Production

Filming

''Assault on Precinct 13'' was mostly filmed on location in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, as well as in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada (

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

Reception

Box office

''Assault on Precinct 13'' grossed $35.3 million worldwide on a budget of $30 million.

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews from critics, with a 59% positive rating on ''

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

'', the site's critical consensus being "This remake has been praised by some as an expertly made

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feat ...

, and dismissed by others as formulaic", and a metascore of 54 on ''

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

''.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Assault On Precinct 13 2005 films 2005 action thriller films American action thriller films Remakes of American films English-language French films French action thriller films 2000s English-language films Fictional portrayals of the Detroit Police Department Films directed by Jean-François Richet Films scored by Graeme Revell Films set in 2004 Films set in 2005 Films set in Detroit Films shot in Detroit Films shot in Hamilton, Ontario Films shot in Toronto Films with screenplays by James DeMonaco Films set around New Year Rogue (company) films Siege films 2000s American films 2000s French films