Jean-François Richet's re-make of John Carpenter's 1976 cult classic matches the original for tension and action. Ethan Hawke (pictured) plays Jake Roenick, a police sergeant in charge of closing down defunct cop shop Precinct 13 with old timer Jasper O'Shea (Brian Dennehy) and secretary Iris Ferry (Drea de Matteo).
But a bus taking drugs lord Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne) to prison is caught up in traffic chaos and he and the other prisoners are dumped on Roenick and his team. Bishop is due to give evidence that would expose cop corruption at the highest level and when Marcus Duvall (Gabriel Byrne), one of those under threat, finds out where Bishop is being held, he gathers a gang to take him out. And only Roenick and his rag-bag of cons, cops and civilians can stop them...
The film is based on Howard Hawk's 1959 classic Rio Bravo, but unlike Carpenter, Richet does allow his defenders to break out of the station for strategic reasons, sacrificing the claustrophobia for added action. The solid cast, particularly Fishburne and Hawke as reluctant allies, make the viewer care about them and after the initial premise is set up, the ensuing action is satisfyingly fast, allowing a couple of glaring plot holes to slip by almost unnoticed.
Assault on Precinct 13 is a Film programme that first aired in 2005 and has been classified a 15 certificate.
