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Movie Review: Assault on Precinct 13 (Carpenter)

Good movies establish the rules they are going to work by, so they can be logically self-contained. (OK, there are movies trying for other things, and they can be good, but I'm not talking about those yet...) In sci-fi or fantasy, this means establishing the level of technology or magic that exists, and the limitations of those rules. In action movies, this often involves establishing the location of the action so the audience can follow what is happening clearly. When the action primarily centers around a fixed location, this can be done very effectively - see the original Die Hard. Or see this movie. The buildup takes a while, and never fully explains what is going on, but it gives you what you need to know. Gangs appear to be working together, and they are very upset about the police trying to crack down on them. Some of the events leading to the assault seem a little far-fetched, like the angry father, but once the assault begins the tension level stays way up there the whole time. Enough so that when it got to what was supposed to be the happy piece of resolution, I expected a final, horrible twist. The soundtrack leaves something to be desired - very minimal synthesizer tones, which do increase the tension but also introduce a bit of dating to the movie. The shrieking female secretary wasn't much of a character, either. But the main police officer, criminal, and the useful secretary all did a fine job with their roles. So it was entertaining to watch, although it didn't really address the "this can't be happening in a city, in this day" issue as much as I expected. But sometimes good movies don't answer the questions they ask.