A remake of John Carpenter's earlier film (before he started making horror flicks) Assault brings a decent cast to this cop action/drama akin to Training Day. I haven't seen the original, and I don't feel a remake should be judged based on its predecessor, nor any movie based on whether the plot's been done before. In this case, like Lord of the Rings or The Alamo, the main characters must protect a fort from a stronger force. 

Ethan Hawke plays Sgt. Jake Roenick, a once undercover cop who after a bust gone wrong, is now a desk jockey. During the transport of a noted gangster and cop-killer Marian Bishop, played by Laurence Fishburne, a storm forces the police and inmates to take shelter in Precinct 13. The precinct is then attacked by an unknown force who seeks the gangster for themselves, and the police must team up with criminals in order to survive. But that's all I'll say without giving away anything important.

In the course of the film, we are faced with characters that we're all familiar with. Hawke is the cop who has emotional problems but hides it. Maria Bello plays the shrink out to help him, and the two are the only ones who aren't aware of their attraction. Hell, even Brian Dennehy plays the "I'm one shift away from retirement" guy. 

Unlike many cop movies where the characters are either squeaky-clean or sarcastic comic-relief, this brings us realism through the sheer grit given off by the cast. The F word is used over a hundred times, and the characters talk about everything but their job, rather than play workaholics (that are commonplace in this genre). 

Laurence Fishburne plays an almost likeable villain. With his blacker-than-death sunglasses and cool demeanor, we half expect him to jump 40 feet into the air before pummeling Agent Smith (The Matrix, if you've been living under a rock). 

There are some twists in the movie, but if you've seen any other stories like this, it's pretty easy to assume who will double-cross who. 

All in all, it's been done, but, who cares? It's a decent movie, with an interesting plot and some good action.

Dan Cosgrove
d.cosgrove@partyinkingston.com