Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)

In the standard action flick, you get about 75% of action and 25% character. Good action films utilize that 25% to give the film substance, which keeps the action from being a mindless cavalcade of bodies being riddled with bullets. Assault on Precinct 13 was originally made by John Carpenter in 1976 about a few police officers stuck in an abandoned precinct as they are relentlessly attacked by gang members out for revenge.

For about five years now, Hollywood has been castrated and no longer has the cahones to make original material, so in this 2005 remake of Assault, Ethan Hawke plays a good cop struggling with past demons who must defend an evil criminal, Lawrence Fishburn, not from gang members, but from bad cops on the take. On New Years Eve, Fishburn, being transported along with other petty criminals during a severe snow storm in Detroit, is detoured due to the weather and forced to wait out the storm in an old precinct about to close down, Precinct 13.

On a side note, Ethan Hawke is one of the high quality A- actors that seem to always work under the radar. Over his career he has amassed an impressive resume, including Dead Poets Society, Reality Bites, Before Sunrise, Gattaca, Hamlet and Training Day. When all is said and done, I think my children will be watching his films on television and wondering why he wasn't more of a star.

Assault qualifies as a very good action flick. The 75% action is well choreographed and bloody, but not excessive. The 25% character is very strong, with a collection of cops and convicts all working together to make it through the night. If you're looking for a very good escapist action film, Assault on Precinct 13 fits the bill.