Review of Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) by Sanna N — 15 Jul 2010

Ah, yes, another pointless remake to an excellent John Carpenter classic. Replacing the grindhouse-style presentation of action and suspense is a more linear and rather pedestrian action film movie which doesn't add a whole lot to the already established backboard set by the original other than using a group of special forces policemen as the bad guys rather than the never-ending onslaught of silent, deadly zombie-like street thugs that made the original so iconic.

Filling in the roles of good cop and bad guy joining forces to stop the outside threat are Ethan Hawke (whom I didn't care for the first time around but after watching all of his recent films, I grown somewhat fond of him) and Laurence Fishburne (who's no Charlie Cyphers but is still amusing, I guess).

They're put together with an amusing ensemble that also includes the beautiful Drea de Matteo (from The Sopranos), Maria Bello (whose character is utilized in a moderately unique way), John Leguizamo, rapper JA Rule, and Brian Dennehy (always happy to watch him in stuff).

The only established villain is lead Gabriel Byrne whose team is desperately trying to get in and execute Fishburne (as well as the rest) to cover up their loose, corrupt ends. At first, I found this movie to be completely unnecessary and a slap-in-the-face to the original, thus resulting in me absolutely hating it.

Boy, what a difference 5 years makes as the never-ending onslaught of unoriginal, pieces of shit remakes continue in droves, each one worse than the other. This recent trend has grown so out-of-control that this Jean-Francois Richet directed piece looks great amongst a mountain of shit.

I'd still say stick to the original, but in a pinch, this film is a moderately entertaining watch.