My Take on the Movies
A Mini-Review of
ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13
By: A. L. “Toni” Anderson

Assault on Precinct 13 is an action-packed police thriller allegedly starring Ethan Hawke (Training Day - 2001), but we all know the real star is Laurence Fishburne. This is a remake of a 1976 John Carpenter film of the same name.

Fishburne’s character, Marion Bishop, is a ruthless cop-killer who is wanted by both the criminals and the police, but for very different reasons. A chilling scene at a Catholic mass early in the film illuminates the interior of his soul. Fishburne is perfectly cast as the underworld czar who believes in taking his enemies down with him, but who keeps the bargains he makes, even with his adversaries.

Ethan Hawke’s character, Detroit P.D. Sgt. Jake Roenick, is a former undercover officer who experiences a life-altering situation early in the film. Without disclosing too much of the plot, Maria Bello plays the police psychologist who is assigned to help him resolve his “issues.”

Other police personnel include Brian Dennehy, who breaks out of his Court TV movie mode to play an aging officer scheduled for imminent retirement, and Dorian Harewood (whom I best recall from The Jesse Owens Story - 1984 and Sparkle - 1976), a uniformed officer who becomes an early casualty.

An assortment of drug addicts, petty thieves, and gang-bangers fill out the cast, most notably portrayed by John Leguizamo and rapper Ja Rule.

Precinct 13 is a beat-up, run-down building also scheduled for retirement; everything that could possibly be of use has been moved out or shut down, in preparation for a move to a new precinct building. To top it off, there is a huge snow storm that hinders visibility, prevents access, and eliminates escape as a possibility. [Why the psychologist is running around in a spaghetti-strap dress and high-heeled sandals is beyond me.]

The assault unit consists of a team of well-trained and well-equipped murderers seeking to eliminate Bishop, who knows (and is willing to disclose) more than is healthy for him and for his enemies.

This is a good film, if you like explosions, violence, betrayal and intrigue. If you want subtlety and romance, this may not be for you. What keeps the viewer interested is guessing who has sold out Bishop, and ultimately, all of the prisoners at Precinct 13.

This film is a “Why Not?” production (wink).

[© 02/01/2005]