At last, a convincing remake. Gone are Carpenter's stylisms and his eternal discourse on the presence of evil in modern societies, but the cardboard characters work this time thanks to the cast (neither Ethan Hawke needs help to look helpless nor Gabriel Byrne or Laurence Fishburne do to look badass).
Even the run-out-the-mill plot is better structured than the original, although the camerawork here is less inventive.
What we are left with is nothing but a distilled late 80s all-out-action film, not unlike the ones made by Walter Hill, Renny Harlin or even John McTiernan when they still were A-list directors. A quite enjoyable ride.