This well-made siege-thriller features plenty of action, excitement and some interesting characters but it's also incredibly tense. The tension is created by the predicament that a small group of staff in a police precinct face when they come under attack from a far more powerful and well-armed group of assailants who are intent on killing them. The fact that the besieged staff can't contact anyone to get any help and are led by a psychologically-damaged station sergeant only makes matters worse. Furthermore, when they have to make some uncomfortable alliances and start to incur casualties, things get even more edgy.
New Year's Eve is a significant time for Detroit's Precinct 13 because it's due to be closed down at midnight and the only staff still on duty are the officer in charge, Sergeant Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke), veteran cop Jasper O'Shea (Brian Dennehy) and their secretary Iris Ferry (Drea de Matteo). Most of the contents of the building have already been removed and Iris is busy packing the few items that still remain. Jake is an ex-undercover cop who, eight months earlier, was involved in an operation that went wrong and resulted in the deaths of two of his fellow officers. Since that time, he's been consumed with guilt, reliant on painkillers and booze and has been placed under the care of police psychiatrist Alex Sabian (Maria Bello).
Outside, a powerful snowstorm is raging and as the road conditions deteriorate, the guards who are transporting a bus-load of criminals nearby, realise that they won't be able to reach their destination and so divert to Precinct 13, where their prisoners can be locked up for the night. On board are notorious crime boss and cop killer, Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne), counterfeit goods dealer, Smiley (Ja Rule), Anna (Aisha Hinds) who claims to be innocent of everything she's been charged with and drug addict Beck (John Leguizamo). All four are duly secured in their cells and then some vehicles and a heavily-armed group of men surround the building and demand that Bishop be released. Jake naturally assumes that these are Bishop's men and so refuses their request. When he discovers that they are, in fact, a group of corrupt cops who have had a long business association with Bishop, it becomes clear that the lives of everyone in the building are in danger and the violent exchanges that follow, prove to be a fight to the death.
With the well-choreographed action taking place in the dark and things becoming increasingly claustrophobic for the besieged group, the movie's atmosphere becomes really threatening. Ethan Hawke does a good job of showing how significantly his character has changed since the events that had such a powerful effect on his psychological state and Laurence Fishburne makes a powerful impression as the ultra-cool Bishop. Drea de Matteo is amusing as the secretary with a reputation for bedding "bad boys" and the rest of the cast also bring something interesting to the portrayals of each of their characters.
New Year's Eve is a significant time for Detroit's Precinct 13 because it's due to be closed down at midnight and the only staff still on duty are the officer in charge, Sergeant Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke), veteran cop Jasper O'Shea (Brian Dennehy) and their secretary Iris Ferry (Drea de Matteo). Most of the contents of the building have already been removed and Iris is busy packing the few items that still remain. Jake is an ex-undercover cop who, eight months earlier, was involved in an operation that went wrong and resulted in the deaths of two of his fellow officers. Since that time, he's been consumed with guilt, reliant on painkillers and booze and has been placed under the care of police psychiatrist Alex Sabian (Maria Bello).
Outside, a powerful snowstorm is raging and as the road conditions deteriorate, the guards who are transporting a bus-load of criminals nearby, realise that they won't be able to reach their destination and so divert to Precinct 13, where their prisoners can be locked up for the night. On board are notorious crime boss and cop killer, Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne), counterfeit goods dealer, Smiley (Ja Rule), Anna (Aisha Hinds) who claims to be innocent of everything she's been charged with and drug addict Beck (John Leguizamo). All four are duly secured in their cells and then some vehicles and a heavily-armed group of men surround the building and demand that Bishop be released. Jake naturally assumes that these are Bishop's men and so refuses their request. When he discovers that they are, in fact, a group of corrupt cops who have had a long business association with Bishop, it becomes clear that the lives of everyone in the building are in danger and the violent exchanges that follow, prove to be a fight to the death.
With the well-choreographed action taking place in the dark and things becoming increasingly claustrophobic for the besieged group, the movie's atmosphere becomes really threatening. Ethan Hawke does a good job of showing how significantly his character has changed since the events that had such a powerful effect on his psychological state and Laurence Fishburne makes a powerful impression as the ultra-cool Bishop. Drea de Matteo is amusing as the secretary with a reputation for bedding "bad boys" and the rest of the cast also bring something interesting to the portrayals of each of their characters.