It is really hard to pull off a remake of a John Carpenter film but the 2005 version of "Assault On Precinct 13" did a commendable job. Jean-Francois Richet directed this version where a drug sting gone haywire leads Sgt. Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke) to end up being a desk cop who is dependent upon alcohol and painkillers. At his Detroit police station which is being shut down permanently on New Years Eve, the few employees left in the building are expecting a quiet evening. Iris Ferry (Drea de Matteo), who was the secretary at the precinct, is trying to keep spirits up with some music, actual spirits and decorations. Meanwhile, a bad snow storm is happening outside.
Laurence Fishburne portrays Marion Bishop, a crime boss whose life is threatened by an undercover police officer during a church service. Fishburne gets the upper hand on the cop but is caught outside and sent to prison. Bishop is being transferred to his new home behind bars along with a counterfeiter, a petty thief and an addict when the storm becomes too bad for the journey to continue. Their bus has to be detoured to the station that is being shutdown much to the dismay of Roenick and Sgt. Jasper O'Shea (Brian Dennehy). Still dealing with the death of members of his team from the previously mentioned drug operation, Roenick is in a very depressed state who is visited by his assigned shrink Dr. Alex Sabian (Maria Bello) on this day as well.
The station becomes under attack by masked men who are believed to be working for Bishop. Much to their surprise, they learn that the precinct is under attack by police officers who want Bishop dead so that he doesn't expose their dealings with the popular kingpin. In an attempt to survive the massacre that is about to happen, the officers are going to need their prisoners to pitch in. John Leguizamo does an exceptional job as Beck, an addict who once practiced law. However, Smiley (Ja Rule) does eventually convince him to make a break for it which doesn't end well . There is plenty of bloodshed and carnage!
Officer Kevin Capra (Matt Craven) falsely becomes under suspicion of communicating with their attackers led by Capt. Marcus Duvall (Gabriel Byrne). However, there is a definite traitor among their ranks. It is interesting that it took most of the movie before an officer remembered that there was a utility tunnel that ran under the station. This bit of info proved to lead to more deaths however. The film is an interesting study between the trust and mistrust of people on the opposite side of the law. Is it really possible for them to work together for a common cause? Was Roenick missing action so much that an attack like this is what he needed to get back to being his old self? I love that at the end of the film Iris tells Roenick that he was "a whole different kind of badass last night.
