Assault On Precinct 13 (2005)

2 out of 4

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Drea de Matteo, Gabriel Byrne, Brian Dennehy, Maria Bello, John Leguizamo, Ja Rule

Director: Jean-Francois Richet

Time: 109 mins

Viewed: in home theatre

When a heavy snowstorm hits on New Year's Eve, Detroit policeman Sergeant Roenick (Hawke) finds he has to babysit gang boss Marion Bishop (Fishburne) and a few other petty crims in an isolated (and soon-to-be-dismantled) precinct station with only a handful of assistants. Pretty soon they are surrounded and attacked by a bunch of corrupt cops, led by Byrne, who want Bishop dead. Remake of John Carpenter's cult classic (itself a modernised remake of the western Rio Bravo) employs a more well-known cast and better production values, but lacks the suspense and dead-pan humour of the original. Plenty of shooting and swearing, but little momentum.

(c) Joe Wong (2 June 2005)