Assault on Precinct 13 [1976] and [2005]

Well, this is a back to back review of the classic and its reincarnation from 2005. The original flick, as always, was a low budget thriller with an excellent script, that over time became a cult movie and the second one tried to cash in on that and to modernize the approach of the whole story. The original, directed by John Carpenter, seems like a relatively simple movie with a couple of premises that evolved into a shitstorm later on. However, it’s interesting that because this is John’s first movie, the directing is not so good, while in the updated version it’s quite innovative and engaging. However, the new movie was too commercial and perhaps a bit too complex for its premise.

A police station is being closed so only a few officers remain in it to pack the rest of the stuff. But then, a dangerous criminal happens to be brought to it. After this a gang of criminals will try to kill everyone inside, and they must defend themselves (too bad Defendor is not there to rescue them). Older flick might bore you if you do not like that vintage vibe, so check out the 2005 version with slightly changed script. Apart from the great idea of the older version, in new one script is pretty dumb, but it has its qualities that make up for that. Enjoy.

Director: John Carpenter

Cast: Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston, Laurie Zimmer, Martin West, Tony Burton

Fun Stuff: The assault takes place on Precinct 9, Division 13. Many have noted the title misnomer, since there is no “Precinct 13” in the film. At first, Carpenter wanted to call the film “The Anderson Alamo” (the original title of his screenplay), and, at one point, he changed the working title to “The Siege.” CKK, the film’s distributor, was responsible for the misnomer; they rejected Carpenter’s titles and came up with the name “Assault on Precinct 13” (which they felt was more ominous sounding) during post-production.

Rating:

IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074156/

Director: Jean-François Richet

Cast: Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Gabriel Byrne, Maria Bello, Drea de Matteo, John Leguizamo

Fun Stuff: The word “fuck” and its derivatives are spoken 127 times.

IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398712/