FFVP Review - ASSAULT IN PRECINCT 13

ASSAULT IN PRECINCT 13

The title “Assault on Precinct 13” (1976) should be a familiar one to fans of director John Carpenter. Made two years before “Halloween” it had all the classic elements of a suspenseful thriller. A precinct in a desolate part of the city is set to close. It is a time before cell phones. There is no contact with the outside world once the power goes off. As Day turns into night, the precinct comes under attack by an ever increasing number of gangs without any apparent reason. They are faceless entities like the Arabs of “The Lost Patrol” annihilating soldiers under siege at an oasis in the desert. As in that film and Howard Hawks’ “Rio Bravo,” the acknowledged inspiration for Carpenter’s “Assault on Precinct 13,”the action escalates exponentially. The holdouts survive by their tactical wits. Carpenter demonstrated a unique ability to let the action dictate the story. His movie was pure cinema. This new update uses the basic outline of the original, fleshes out its characters and turns the roving gangs into dirty cops.

This “Assault on Precinct 13” opens with Ethan Hawke - as Jake Roenick - in a variation on a scene right out of his last big hit, “Training Day.” (No surprise here - both movies have the same producer). Jake is hurt in an undercover bust gone bad. He loses his nerve, turns to drink and ends up working the desk at Precinct 13 - all within the first ten minutes. He’s one of the good cops on watch on New Year’s Eve. The police station is set to officially close its doors at the stroke of midnight. Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne), a gangland kingpin and some low-lifes are diverted to the jail house from their original destination because of a severe winter storm. The bad cops, led by Gabriel will do anything to kill Bishop even if they have to kill their own which begs the question: How can a few good cops, a desk clerk, and Jake’s shrink - who happened to be paying him a visit - hold out against a squad of killer cops with the latest in weapons technology at their disposal?

There is one great scene that establishes Bishop’s lethal nature. As a prelude to the mayhem that will follow, Jake will later have to ask himself if Bishop can be trusted with a gun. That they will come to depend on each other for survival is a given. How they reach that point is not. The reliability of the other prisoners influences their choices. The payoff is a rousing shootout with an unpredictable ending.

The credible cast includes the ever reliable Brian Dennehy as a cop getting ready to retire; Maria Bellow as Jake’s shrink who has to make some life and death situations of her own; Drea de Matteo of Sopranos fame as the street smart clerk, the chameleon-like John Leguizamo, rapper Ja Rule and Aisha Hinds round out the cast as the low level criminals.

As entertainment, “Assault on Precinct 13” is a solid high octane flick that will satisfy any action junkie.

The one that inspired John Carpenter to make the original “Assault on Precinct 13”

“Rio Bravo” (1959) - The Howard Hawks Western classic with John Wayne as a sheriff holding a prisoner the bad guys want freed. Dean Martin is the town drunk given a second chance and a gun when Wayne deputizes him. The toothless and often hilarious Walter Brennan plays the jails gimpy cook and deputy. Ricky Nelson was a teen idol when he made this movie. His vocalizing seems out of tune with the rest of the movie today but at the time his appearance presumably meant bigger box office.

Three great siege movies

“The Lost Patrol” (1934) - A John Ford classic about a lost British platoon who are picked off by marauding Arabs one by one at a desert outpost The crackle of rifle fire is startling against the silence of the desert. With a great Boris Karloff as a religious fanatic and Victor McLaglen. Scripted by Dudley Nichols.

“Rawhide” (1951) - Outlaws hold hostages at a stage coach way station until they can make their getaway. With Tyrone Power and Susan Hayward. Also scripted by Dudley Nichols. Hmmmmm!

“Fort Apache: The Bronx” (1981) - Paul Newman stars in this drama about a much written about precinct in the Bronx that was deemed the most dangerous in New York City. With Ken Wahl, Danny Aiello, and Ed Asner.