3 stars

I’m not sure why they remade this movie. All I know is that I’m glad there’s a decent actioner for grownups amidst the January junk.

You might remember director John Carpenter for movies such as “Halloween.” His “Assault on Precinct 13” (which had “Rio Lobo” at its roots) is a violent film -- if you’ve seen it, you probably remember the slaying of a little girl who has an ice cream cone.

Well, that ghastly scene is not included here. But the overall idea -- that of a group of criminals and cops working together to survive -- is maintained.

The setting is New Year’s Eve, when the 13th Precinct in Detroit is just hours away from shutting down for good, so inside there’s a little party going on that includes the sergeant, Jake (Ethan Hawke), Jasper (Brian Dennehy), who’s going to retire; secretary Iris (Drea de Matteo, HBO’s “The Sopranos”), and Jake’s psychiatrist (Maria Bello, “Coyote Ugly”).

Elsewhere, a drug lord named Bishop (Laurence Fishburne) is arrested after he and some other thugs engage in slayings inside and outside a church. The transport bus, which includes Bishop and three other people in custody, can’t get through the storm to its destination, so it stops at Precinct 13 to hole up for the night. Bishop and the other prisoners (John Leguizamo, Aisha Hinds and Ja Rule) are placed in cells so that, at daylight, other offices can whisk them away.

But, just at midnight, the precinct is overtaken by gunfire by a group of men who demand that Bishop be freed. Jake refuses to let the known cop killer go, and so begins a game of cat and mouse between the attackers and the little group trapped inside.

The acting is fine, and the script is well-written because the bad guys act so, well, bad. There’s no “talking villain” scene here, in which the baddies take time to explain to their victims what’s going on so the victims can be rescued in the nick of time. These criminals are executioners, and they don’t fool around.

Fishburne, in particular, exudes a calculating coolness as the soft-spoken, sinister drug lord who will stop at nothing to save his own life.

It’s tough, it’s gritty, and it’s a good adult antidote for cabin fever.

Running time: Just a little less than two hours.

Rated: R for graphic violence and gore, foul language and sexual talk.

Stars: Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Maria Bello, Brian Dennehy, Gabriel Byrne, John Leguizamo, Drea de Matteo, Jeffrey “Ja Rule” Atkins, Aisha Hinds, Matt Craven and Currie Graham.

Director: Jean-François Richet.
Screenwriter: James DeMonaco, based on the film by John Carpenter.