Assault on Precinct 13 (2005 film)

Former Marine and Detroit Police Department's Sergeant Jake Roenick leads a squad of undercover police officers in drug sting that fails. A shootout ensues; Roenick is wounded and his entire team killed despite his best efforts.

Months later, Roenick is burned-out, abusing alcohol and painkillers while clinging to his unambitious new assignment as a desk sergeant at Precinct 13, a soon-to-be decommissioned police station. On New Year's Eve, Roenick, along with veteran policemen Kevin Capra, Jasper O'Shea, and secretary Iris Ferry are the only people on site, since most of the officers have transferred or are taking time off for the Holidays. Psychiatrist Alexandra Sabian also arrives to evaluate Roenick's fitness for duty, as the reluctant and dismissive officer has consistently avoided their appointments. In her assessment, she confronts Roenick with his failures during the botched sting, but also acknowledges that Roenick's self-blame is misplaced, as he could not control every circumstance. Capra, whose attempts to woo Iris are rebuffed, leaves after his shift ends.

Meanwhile, crime boss Marion Bishop is arrested after killing an undercover policeman in a church. Two Wayne County sheriff's deputies are transferring Bishop with three other criminals: addict ex-lawyer Beck, petty crook Anna, and counterfeiter Smiley. When a raging snowstorm shuts down the roads, the dispatcher orders the bus to the nearby Precinct 13. Roenick and O'Shea are hesitant to accept the prisoners, given that they are short-staffed, but the storm gives them little option, so they place the prisoners in holding and let the deputies join them inside. Bishop issues several foreboding warnings that they are in danger, but the policemen ignore him.

Soon thereafter, masked gunmen cut off the Precinct's communications and electricity, attack the station, kill the deputies and demand that Bishop be handed over to them. The lawmen initially believe the attackers are Bishop's men, but when they kill one of the attackers, they discover he is from a crew of undercover policemen led by Captain Marcus Duvall of Precinct 21. Bishop explains that Duvall and many members of his team are corrupt and were formerly his business partners. Bishop balked when they demanded a larger cut, so Duvall and his men tried to kill Bishop before he could testify about their involvement. The undercover policeman that Bishop killed in the church was there to silence him; he acted in self-defense.

Roenick believes Bishop, but is reluctant to trust him; however the two forge an uneasy truce between cops and criminals, as both groups know they will be killed by Duvall to protect his secret. Heavily outnumbered and outgunned, Roenick sets free the prisoners, arming them to better defend the station. Their combined efforts repulses several more attacks and creates a stalemate.

Both sides notice an approaching vehicle, and Duvall's men attack. Roenick rescues the driver, who turns out to be Capra. Beck believes that Capra is a plant for Duvall, but Roenick vouches for him. Beck doesn't believe him and tries to attempt a mutiny, but Bishop sides with Roenick and forcefully reminds Beck that Roenick is in charge. With Capra's vehicle outside the front door, Beck and Smiley secretly plan to make a break for it. At the same time, the rest of the defenders are also planning to use the vehicle, with Anna and Sabian volunteering to be the driver and "gunman" in an effort to get help. Beck and Smiley happen to sneak out first and get killed by Duvall's men, providing a distraction for Anna and Sabian to get away. Duvall, anticipating this, had Kahane, his second in command, lie in wait in the vehicle. Kahane kills Anna, then Duvall kills Sabian after she refuses to help him.

With only five defenders left alive, Roenick and Bishop decide to take action instead of waiting for another attack. When someone inside unlocks the back door, they suspect Capra to be a mole for Duvall and put him in handcuffs.

The snowfall subsides just enough to allow Duvall to call in some corrupt SWAT officers by helicopter, who land on the roof of Precinct 13. The defenders set fire to the station to cover their escape and flee through a utilities tunnel underneath the building. Emerging from the tunnel, they find themselves surrounded by Duvall's men. O'Shea confesses that he assisted Duvall, preferring to side with corrupt policemen than a career criminal like Bishop. As Duvall prepares to execute the rest, Bishop secretly plants a flash bang grenade on O'Shea, injuring him. In the confusion, Iris and Capra flee in Duvall's SUV. Kahane shoots out the tires, knocking Capra unconscious in the crash, and then moves in to finish off Iris. However, she manages to kill him after a struggle.

Duvall chases Roenick and Bishop into a nearby forest where they work together to counterattack, killing Duvall's remaining forces. Duvall wounds both of them before Roenick finally manages to kill Duvall. Bishop, the more mobile of the two, takes Roenick's gun and flees, with Roenick promising to personally arrest him in the future. When Iris arrives with police and firemen, Roenick claims that only he and Duvall's gang are present, effectively granting Bishop a getaway. Roenick and Iris leave the forest as the sun rises, and she observes that Roenick was "a whole different kind of badass last night". Roenick agrees, stating that he's "back".

• Ethan Hawke as Sergeant Jake Roenick
• Laurence Fishburne as Marion Bishop
• John Leguizamo as Beck
• Maria Bello as Dr. Alex Sabian
• Jeffrey "Ja Rule" Atkins as Smiley
• Drea de Matteo as Iris Ferry
• Matt Craven as Officer Kevin Capra
• Brian Dennehy as Officer Jasper O'Shea
• Gabriel Byrne as Captain Marcus Duvall
• Kim Coates as Deputy Rosen
• Dorian Harewood as Deputy Gil
• Currie Graham as Lieutenant Mike Kahane
• Fulvio Cecere as Officer Ray Portnell
• Titus Welliver as Milos
• Aisha Hinds as Anna

Assault on Precinct 13 was mostly filmed on location in Detroit, as well as in Ontario, Canada (Toronto and Hamilton).

The film received mixed reviews from critics, with a 59% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the site's critical consensus being "This remake has been praised by some as an expertly made B-movie, and dismissed by others as formulaic",[2] and a metascore of 54 on Metacritic.[3]

Assault on Precinct 13 was not financially successful, and was widely considered a box office failure; made on a budget of $30 million, it went on to earn $35.3 million worldwide.[1]

• List of American films of 2005
• The Nest (Nid de guêpes) - French film influenced by original

• Assault on Precinct 13 at IMDb
• Assault on Precinct 13 at Metacritic
• Assault on Precinct 13 at Rotten Tomatoes
• Assault on Precinct 13 at Box Office Mojo