Assault on Precinct 13

As the clock ticks down to midnight on New Year's Eve, Precinct 13, Detroit's oldest and most storied police station, is poised to shut its doors for good. A skeleton crew of seasoned officers remains on duty to usher in the new year, including Sergeant Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke), a man haunted by the ghosts of his past. The weight of a botched undercover operation eight months prior still lingers, a constant reminder of the devastating consequences that befell two of his teammates.

Meanwhile, crime lord Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne) finds himself behind bars, a prisoner on a prison bus carrying three other nefarious characters: Beck (John Leguizamo), an addict with a penchant for trouble; Anna (Aisha Hinds), a petty thief with a knack for getting in over her head; and Smiley (Ja Rule), a counterfeiter with a talent for deception. As the stormy night wears on, the bus driver is forced to take a detour through treacherous roads, ultimately bringing the prisoners to the doorstep of Precinct 13.

The officers' plans for a low-key New Year's celebration are quickly dashed as masked gunmen infiltrate the precinct, leaving one guard dead and another gravely injured. As the station falls silent, the officers soon realize they are surrounded by an unknown enemy, preparing to lay siege to their stronghold. With cellular phone reception and radio communication jammed, the officers are left to fend for themselves.

The first sign of trouble comes in the form of a brick hurled through the precinct's window, bearing the ominous message "Bishop" scrawled across its surface. Jasper (Brian Dennehy) is quick to speculate that this is the work of Bishop's men, sent to extract their leader from custody. However, Roenick soon discovers that his colleague's theory is nothing more than a desperate attempt to make sense of the chaos.

As the night wears on and tensions escalate, Roenick finds himself face-to-face with one of the attackers, who meets a swift and merciless end at his hands. The revelation that this would-be assassin was not only a policeman but also a member of Captain Marcus Duvall's (Gabriel Byrne) corrupt crew serves as a wake-up call to the officers trapped inside Precinct 13.

The truth begins to unravel like a twisted thread, revealing that Bishop and Duvall were once partners in crime, united by their desire for power and wealth. But Duvall's insatiable greed eventually drove them apart, leaving Bishop to face the music alone. Now, Duvall and his men are hell-bent on silencing Bishop before he can testify at trial, sparing themselves from a lengthy prison sentence.

The officers of Precinct 13 are left reeling in the wake of this revelation, forced to confront the dark reality that they have unknowingly been played like pawns in a deadly game. As the storm rages on outside and the siege continues within, it becomes clear that everyone inside the precinct is now a liability – a threat to Duvall's carefully crafted plan for survival.

As the night wears on, Roenick finds himself in a desperate bid to even the odds against an increasingly formidable force of street cops, snipers, and elite SWAT troopers. In a bold move, he decides to liberate the prison's occupants and arm them to help hold off the authorities until dawn. Despite the inherent mistrust between the prisoners and the law enforcement personnel, Roenick and Bishop manage to forge an unlikely alliance, agreeing to work together in order to survive the treacherous night ahead. By combining their strength, they successfully repel further attacks from the police forces and reclaim control of their weapons.

Just as it seems things are stabilizing, a new figure bursts onto the scene: off-duty cop Capra. His erratic driving has allowed him to evade the snipers' bullets, but he arrives at Precinct 13 in a state of panic and disorientation. The officers welcome him with open arms, but Beck's suspicions run rampant, leading Bishop to intervene and calm the situation.

Meanwhile, Smiley is equally convinced that Capra is a plant, prompting him to join forces with Beck in a bid for freedom. They concoct a plan to make a break for it over the nearby fence. The sudden explosion of the prison bus and their observation of Smiley and Beck making a run for it prompt the remaining occupants to seize this diversion as an opportunity to escape.

With Capra's car at their disposal, they devise a plan to send a few brave souls out to call for help while the police are distracted by Beck and Smiley. Anna volunteers her expertise in hot-wiring cars to lead the operation, accompanied by Alex. However, Beck and Smiley fail to make it past the perimeter fence before being cut down by snipers. Anna and Alex appear to have succeeded, but a cop hiding in the backseat of Capra's car shoots and kills Anna, causing the vehicle to crash and resulting in Alex's capture.

As the last remnants of their group, Roenick, Bishop, Jasper, Capra, and Iris are left to face an increasingly dire situation. The handcuffs that had secured the back door are mysteriously removed, leading Bishop to suspect treachery from within. His prime suspect is Capra, but before they can take action, the police launch a full-scale assault on the precinct with reinforcements from the rooftop, effectively sealing their fate.

As Jasper's treachery unfolds, the remnants of the group find themselves trapped between the very precinct they sought refuge from. The desperate bid for escape culminates in a daring plan hatched by Bishop, who palms a flash grenade into Jasper's jacket just as the corrupt officers led by Duvall prepare to execute them. In the ensuing chaos, the survivors manage to disarm their pursuers and make a break for freedom.

Meanwhile, Iris and Capra attempt to escape in an officer's car, while Roenick and Bishop flee into the surrounding forest. However, their respite is short-lived as they soon find themselves pursued by Duvall and another officer. The car containing Iris and Capra eventually flips, leaving Capra severely injured but Iris managing to turn the tables on Kahane with his own knife.

In the forest, Roenick finds himself confronted by Bishop, who proposes a temporary alliance aimed at eliminating Duvall. With the corrupt officers equipped with night vision and their quarry lacking this advantage, Roenick volunteers to draw fire so that Bishop can exploit the muzzle flashes to take out their adversaries. The plan proves effective, allowing Bishop to dispatch one of the officers, but he soon finds himself wounded by Duvall's bullet.

Undeterred, Bishop decides to spare Roenick, who vows to eventually bring him to justice. As Bishop limps away, a group of officers led by Iris arrives on the scene. One of the officers asks Roenick if anyone else is in the forest, and after a momentary scan of his surroundings, he responds with a definitive "no". The film concludes with a shot of the battered Roenick and Iris making their way to an ambulance, where she remarks that she barely recognizes the battle-hardened figure before him. He simply replies, "get used to it."