MovieChat Forums > Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) Discussion > Assault on Precinct 13 '76 vs '05

Assault on Precinct 13 '76 vs '05

posted 12 years ago by guyver99x
25 replies | jump to latest

I have to say this is another case where a remake was not needed...at all. Carpenter's AoP13 is so much better than this abomination of a remake. The characters were way cooler and likeable, their relationships developed in the ensuing chaos, the criminals had more charisma, the guys assaulting the precinct were more menacing. They somehow turned John Carpenter's classic into an underwhelming, run-of-the-mill action movie. You'd think with some talent like Fishburne, Hawke, Bello, Leguizamo and Byrne it wouldn't take much to make a great film but...they failed. At the end, I didn't care what happened to the main characters or whether they lived or died. I didn't care if Bishop got away, nor did I care if he shot Roenick. When that happens to your audience, you have failed as movie makers.

You take away the title of this movie and it would just be your typical straight to video flick with some bigger names in it. It's something you rent for $1 one evening and then forget it even existed a week later. The '76 version I can watch over and over again.

Carpenter's movie did everything better except the special effects. That film is a classic. The '05 version is just unnecessary and I would gladly tell anyone who has an interest in Assault on Precinct 13 to stick to the original and forget this one even existed.

[–] wegottableeder 12 years ago

Agreed 100%.

The remake is just a cheesy, cliched, generic action film.

The "What are you gonna do, shoot a cop?" dialogue at the end of the movie was so cliched and uninspired, it made me want to tear my hair out.

[–] Tabbycat (915) 6 years ago

One thing the original was mos def NOT was generic.
I had never seen anything remotely like it.

The remake is all loud music, yelling and shoot ‘em up.
Once the squibs fly I’m not even paying attention.

Plus ... where’s the atmosphere?
Any sense of isolation and silent, unseen threat in the dark?

Best description I’ve read of the original is “Rio Bravo” meets “Night of the Living Dead.”
It’s half horror movie.
Not here. All action, no horror makes Jack a dull flick.

And the original has a HUGE payoff in the ending, when the condemned convict has finished helping defend the fort — including the cops detaining him. Austin Stoker says, “I’d be honored if you’d accompany me” — true character revealed in battle. Nothing like that here.

[–] MikePaul854 11 years ago

Sorry but I thought this remake was much more intense and exciting then the original.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MikePaul854 10 years ago

Neither of which matters to me. You sti get the gist of what I was saying.

[–] MikePaul854 10 years ago

*still

[–] genixo 8 years ago

You are right!! i felt the same. the old one is not exiting at all.

[–] wallacesawyer 11 years ago

Well granted the remake didn't need to be made. The original is good, but so is the remake. A slight rewrite, the remake probably could've passed for a sequel in fact.

I'd say the original is better, mainly because of Wilson and Bishop. They're a lot more confident and united. In the remake I was just waiting for Bishop to try and escape. I know they switched races, but did they really have to switch names? Bishop was the cop before.

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[–] Full_Blooded_Italian 11 years ago

I enjoyed both, but my issue with the remake is by having it cops that have the assualt, it takes any belivability out of it. It wouldn't be how police handle it at all.

[–] DACHokie 11 years ago

i own a copy of the original version and i'm watching the 05 remake now. uggh.

There are several reasons why i think the remake is horrendous, the first being the A/B list actors ... most, if not ALL of them are typecast which ruins things from the start. Second, the music is over-the-top (as usual, these days) in the drama dept ... the original film's music was more ambient and suspenseful.

The plot of the first was original and raw. The no-name actors gave the film a sense of reality. Even the thought of attacking a police precinct was believable in the original.

Has Leguizamo ever been in a film that doesn't portray himself as the most annoying person on the screen?

The remake is so far from the original, I don't know why they even gave it the same title. Original good. Remake bad, real bad.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] It_Is_Me_not_you 10 years ago

seen both and I like the 1976 version better.

[–] Movie_Piranha_1979 10 years ago

I prefer the original, but i enjoyed also the remake...

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