History Film / AssaultOnPrecinct131976

* ActionGirl: Leigh. Even after getting shot in the arm, she still manages to take down several mooks.

* CrooksAreBetterArmed: Justified by establishing early that the Street Thunder gang have gotten hold of a stash of stolen firearms, including scoped M16 rifles and [[CoolGuns Broomhandle Mauser pistols]]--the latter isn't exactly a government issue weapon, so they must have been stolen from a private collector. However when it comes to the final battle in the basement the firearms have mysteriously disappeared, enabling Bishop and Wilson to [[ConservationOfNinjutsu hold the gang members off with a makeshift barricade and clubs]].

%%* BadHumorTruck: Hey, this isn't vanilla twist...

* BigBadDuumvirate: Subverted. The Street Thunder has a quartet of warlords, only of whom the caucasian one gets much focus and even then he's killed about halfway through the film after signing the [[BloodPact Cholo]] to take revenge on the city and gunning down a little girl. The other three come to avenge him at the police precinct but they're only ever shown dropping their banner as a sign of attack and otherwise the Street Thunders are a faceless horde.

* BigBad: Subverted. The ice-cold, eerily quiet and murderous white warlord is clearly set up as this after he [[spoiler:murders Kathy]], but he's [[spoiler:quite easily gunned down by her grieving father afterwards.]] From that point onwards, the gang members have no clear leader, or any characterization at all, acting more as an eerily faceless hive mind than as individual people.

* AntiHero[=/=]AntiVillain: Napoleon Wilson is Type III as AntiHero/Type IV as AntiVillain. We never learn what ''was'' his motivation for killing five men, but hey, he's still a criminal.

* BadHumorTruck: Hey, this isn't vanilla twist...

* DaylightHorror: The ice cream truck scene that culminates in [[spoiler:the brutal and pointless murders of the truck driver and little Kathy Lawson]] happens in broad daylight.

* SaltAndPepper: Bishop and Wilson can be seen as a version of this.

** Wilson searches the police station for weapons and finds a box of magnesium flares, but no flare gun to fire them. Later he notes an acetylene tank in an evidence crate that could have blown them all up if a bullet has struck it. It's no surprise when he comes up with the idea of [[ShootTheFuelTank combining all these]] for their final stand.

* TheStoic

* SweaterGirl: Both Leigh ''and'' Julie.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Wilson, who aside from being a world class asshole and murderer, actually does his best to help the people trapped in the station. Also Wells, who is snippy and snarky but has his heart in the right place.

** [[spoiler:Wilson searches the police station for weapons and finds a box of magnesium flares, but no flare gun to fire them. Later he notes an acetylene tank in an evidence crate that could have blown them all up if a bullet has struck it. It's no surprise when he comes up with the idea of [[ShootTheFuelTank combining all these]] for their final stand.]]

* AlmostDeadGuy: The ice cream truck driver hangs on just long enough to inform Lawson of the gun under the dash.

** After the ice cream truck shooting, he could have telephoned the police (not to mention an ambulance for the NotQuiteDead truck driver!) from the phone box right next to his car. Instead, he goes chasing off after a car full of armed killers.

%%* ArmedAltruism

* IdiotHero: Lawson makes a couple of remarkably stupid decisions:
** After the ice cream truck shooting, he could have telephoned the police from the phone box right next to his car. Instead, he goes chasing off after a car full of armed killers.
** Having chased the car full of killers until after sunset, he finally confronts them and manages to kill one. Instead of driving off in his car (which is not shown to have been damaged), he runs away on foot.
** For their part, three of the car full of armed killers run away run away from Lawson instead of gunning him down. Perhaps they could have worked out a plan in all the time they spent driving around?

* RabidCop: Chaney, who roughs up Lawson after he runs into the station and shoves Wells and Napoleon while escorting then to their cells.

* PleaseWakeUp: When Sgt. Chaney steps outside and gets gunned down by silenced rifles Julie just laughs, thinking he's just fallen down. Even Bishop doesn't realise what's happened until some bullets fly off the wall next to him.

%%* SweaterGirl: Leigh ''and'' Julie.