“Assault on Precinct 13″ Directed by
Jean-François Richet Rogue Pictures
It seemed the American public had enough prison scandals to deal
with. “Assault on Precinct 13″ sets out to prove that
there is room for one more. The film’s kill-or-be-killed plot
involves cops and criminals in a decrepit precinct banding together
to fight off a horrific, yet seemingly unlikely, group of invaders.
The cliched cast of characters includes the usual suspects of
police drama: Ethan Hawke as the noble, emotionally distressed
sergeant, Laurence Fishburne as the ultra-cool cop-killer, Drea de
Matteo as the sultry stiletto-wearing policewoman, and John
Leguizamo as the wisecracking junkie. In spite of the trite
dialogue and characters, the film does manage to build a good dose
of suspense, which derives not from the violence and gore, but
rather director Jean-François Richet’s frantic and
fast-paced style. With characters constantly getting picked off, it
remains unclear who will actually survive the gruesome night. The
suspense grows, however, at the cost of rendering the plot
ridiculous. As the assault upon the precinct wages on, the motives
become less and less logical, and the events become more and more
improbable. But perhaps this need not be criticized. Instead,
perhaps this film should be placed along those like
“Speed” where absurdity and suspense go hand in hand.
The original “Assault on Precinct 13,” written and
directed by John Carpenter in 1976, has become something of a cult
classic. Though the current version does at times retain
Carpenter’s mixture of comedy and horror, the story has been
updated and reflects a more modern cynicism toward law enforcement.
As enemies become friends and as friends become enemies, all rules
of relations break down as the characters try to survive the night
and live to see dawn. What the film fails to eradicate, however, is
the rule of predictability. -Emily Camastra