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As promised, this weeks “Action Movie
Time Machine” destination will be to that of quality! After the blunder that is
“Assassins”, I had to think hard and ask myself “How
can I make things right?”. Well I’ve figured out a way. I’m retro-fitting
the Time Machine with my big guns. We’re taking on some of the greatest action
films of all time. The films of John Carpenter!
The year was 1976. David Berkowitz
earned the names “Son of Sam“ and “.44 Killer“ for attacking and killing a
series of men and women. The "Laverne & Shirley" spin-off from
"Happy Days" and "Bionic Woman" both debuts on ABC. The U.S.
preformed nuclear tests in the Nevada desert…again…for some reason, and there
was an “Assault on Precinct 13”.
THE SKINNY
The film begins with a police
crackdown on gang crime. As they are investigating the disappearance of several
crates of stolen automatic weapons which are in the possession of a deadly
gang. Their investigation leads them to a run-in with six armed gang members
who are brought to their untimely end.
Once word reaches the rest of the
gang, their four Warlord leaders decide to exact their revenge on the good
people of Los Angeles, as well as the LAPD.
While this plan is set in motion,
Lieutenant Ethan Bishop, Austin Stoker, has just been transferred to a
new department. On the first day he is assigned to watch over Precinct 13 on
it’s final day of business. The precinct has been consolidated with another and
all the files and personnel are being sent across town. He just has to make
sure everything goes smoothly. It’s worth mentioning that Bishop and the other
staff are expecting the phone and electricity to be shut off at any moment. I
have a sneaking suspicion this might be important later. Call me crazy.
Meanwhile, Napoleon Wilson, Darwin
Joston, is a hardened criminal who is being transferred to a maximum
security prison with two other practitioners of the illegal arts. On the long
buss ride, one of the men becomes violently ill and the guards make a stop at
the closest precinct, Precinct 13, to have a doctor look him over.
As the day burns on the Warlords and
their gang unpack their newly acquired automatic weapons and begin crusin’ the
city looking for hapless victims. Who do they set their sights on first? An ice
cream truck driver and the little girl he was selling ice cream too. These are
some bad dudes! The girls father retaliates, hunting down one of the gang
members. But soon he becomes the hunted. Exhausted and out of breath, the man
falls on the steps of Precinct 13, where he takes refuge.
The gang is now out for blood. They
want the man responsible for killing one of their brother and now hove the entire
building surrounded.
Bishop, Napoleon & Leigh, another
officer played by Laurie Zimmer, now must defend the girl’s father as
well as themselves from the countless gang members as they try to infiltrate
the building. The three must learn to trust each other as they fend off wave
after wave of attacks without being able to phone or radio for help. Ya know,
cause the phone and electricity got shut off.
In a scene that is reminiscent of
“300”, the survivors hideout in a store room located at the end of a long
corridor, causing the gang to bottleneck as they attack. But you see this is
just part of their plan. At the end of the hall, behind the attacking gang, is
a tank of acetylene. Once the gang fills the hall Napoleon holds them off while
Bishop takes a shot at the tank, which he hits blowing up the gang.
While Leigh is being treated for a
gunshot wound to the arm, Bishop walks Napoleon out of the building as friends.
The End.
THE VERDICT
John Carpenter is a huge fan of
director Howard Hawks. Growing up, he fell in love with such Hawks films as “The Thing From Another
World”, and “Rio Bravo”. These films each shared a common element. A rag-tag
group of men fighting against impossible odds to survive. I can’t say that
Carpenter is solely responsible for “Assault on Precinct 13”, as it is a
re-imagining of “Rio Bravo”, a film about a sheriff, a drunk, a cripple and
teen gunfighter who defend the local jail from waves of attackers trying to
free a captured criminal.
empathized with all the more.
Speaking of which, the relationship
Napoleon and Bishop have. Early on neither trusts the other, but when shit
starts to hit the wall they realize that they are going to have to learn to
trust each other if they are going to survive the night. Of course by the end
of the film, their career choices aside, Napoleon and Bishop accept each other
as equals. Classic action movie man-code!
Another thing concerning the
Napoleon/Bishop relationship. Race never factors into it. I know I mentioned
race during my “Passenger 57” review and how it could have made
the film more interesting. But “Assault” is the opposite. Race is never
mentioned once. Not by Napoleon -- a white guy. Or Bishop -- a black dude. Not
to or about each other, and not to or about the attacking gang. The police
officer and the career criminal have enough to overcome between each other and
the swarms of bad guys.
I only
mention this because it seem like the type of thing that could have easily
found it’s way into this ‘70s film. I think ninety nine out of one hundred other
writers/directors would have jumped at the opportunity to weave their own
personal message into the movie, regardless whether or not it was a good
decision. The film didn’t need it and I feel thankful that it was left out. The
same could be said about any feminist message -- Leigh is one bad-ass chick!
Again, “Assault” is about a small
group fighting for their lives and earning each others respect by the end of
it. Adding anything to that could have complicated and perhaps ruined the
simple and effective story. It would have come off preachy and acted as a
backhanded compliment to the characters and the audience watching. The strength
of this films story is it’s simplicity.
In Carpenter’s modernization, he added
to the “Rio Bravo” story the escalating violence that was present in the urban
areas during the ‘70s. Typically brought on by political, social and economic
reasons, in “Assault on Precinct 13” the attackers seem to attack for no other
reason than because they are bad guys and that‘s what bad guys do.
I compare the gang in this movie to
the crime you might hear about on your local news. The news caster always
describes the crime -- what was robbed or who was stabbed, ect. -- but rarely
is the perpetrator ever seen, or do they speak for themselves. It’s like all
the “bad things” are some sort of entity that lurks in the shadows and acts
without motive or reason.
I think the attackers, who are
virtually faceless in this film (the police too), are tremendously effective in
this way. They don’t seem to have any particular motivation, personality,
voice, or purpose other than to kill. In some ways they are like Michael Myers
as the boogieman. They seem to represent crime and violence in a general way
without themselves being any one specific criminal.
I have just a few final comments. The
first being about John Carpenter’s score. Again he managed to compose music
that is as moody and functional as it is pleasant to listen too. Check it out
for yourself here. Also, I don’t think this film was
every any direct inspiration for a video game, but it should be. I would play
the shit out of an sixteen bit “Assault” game.
Without movies like “Assault on
Precinct 13”, there would be no “Predator” and there would be no “Aliens”.
“Assault” might seem tame by the standards set in the ‘80s, but “Assault” is
the roots of those films and I highly recommend checking it out.
I’m Cory Carr and this concludes our
ride on the “Action Movie Time Machine”. Until next time, Semper Fi!
For more from Cory, check out his
website slaughterfilm.com, where he and his good friend Forest
Taylor record weekly pod casts, reviewing the films that are legendary, even in
Hell!
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