A remake of a cult John Carpenter '70s classic, Assault on Precinct 13 changes the plot line slightly for its remake edition. It wasn't high concept to begin with, and what we're given in the 2005 version is hectic, relentless action. A star-filled cast rounds out this fun-to-watch actioner that doesn't carry a lot of brains behind it.
The set-up is quick as a crime lord (Laurence Fishburne) is captured and due to a rough patch of winter weather, is held inside the nearly closed down Precinct 13 instead of a newly constructed facility. The remake adds some weight to the characters as Ethan Hawke plays Sergeant Jake Roenick, a depressed cop who never recovered from an inside job gone wrong. The cast continues to roll in, including a rare sub-par performance from Maria Bello, Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo, Ja Rule, and Gabriel Byrne.
The prisoner transfer leads to a long stand-off as the small band of people inside fends off the enemy slowly pushing forward towards an unknown goal. Certain plot points come early destroying any sense of mystery, though it's necessary to give the audience enough information to make sense of the on-screen action. There's plenty of the latter to go around.
This is without a doubt a straight action flick, with plenty of gore, gun fights, and some hand-to-hand combat. Explosions are not prevalent, though they provide a great punch when they do happen. There's a nice twist near the end to give the script a solid finish.
When it's over, you can't help but pick things apart. There are plot holes everywhere, whether that's do to a poor explanation from the dialogue or a plainly lacking script is a personal call. On the other side, this is meant to be an action piece and rarely are they as frenetic or energetic as this. 
Video quality is only a mild increase over the standard DVD. It does a better job handling small details such as snow, which is no longer compressed as heavily as it was. Black levels are wonderfully rich, and color is strong. It's the detail in scenes with close ups that fail to impress as they should for a next generation movie format even though sharpness is high.
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