Death Wish Review

R: Strong Bloody Violence, and Language Throughout 

MGM

1 Hr and 48 Minutes

Dir: Eli Roth | Writer: Joe Carnahan

Cast: Bruce Willis, Vincent D’Onofrio, Elisabeth Shue, Dean Norris, Kimberly Elise, Mike Epps, Camila Morrone 

INTRO: Eli Roth is back and not back to his usual self. The last time we’ve seen him was 2015’s “Knock Knock” which is the first time in a while where he deviated from being Mr. Body Horror Roth. Now he is baaaaaack with “Death Wish,” a modern remake of the 1974 of the same name based on the 1972 novel by Brian Garfield. 

Dr. Paul Kersey (Bruce Willis) is a surgeon who only sees the aftermath of his city's violence as it's rushed into his ER -until his wife (Elisabeth Shue) and college-age daughter (Camila Morrone) are viciously attacked in their suburban home. With the police overloaded with crimes, Paul, burning for revenge, hunts for his family's assailants to deliver justice. As the anonymous slayings of criminals grabs the media's attention, the city wonders if this deadly avenger is a guardian angel...or a grim reaper. 

THE GOOD

Since the story is about a man trying to avenge his wife and daughter, along the way he singlehandedly brings down the crime rate in his hometown.  This had three choices for it to take place in for the vigilante statements to work: Detroit, Bronx, or Chicago. Take a careful guess where this takes place? Yup, good ol’ Chicago. On the positive side, having the story’s setting in Chicago is beneficial for it is a crime-ridden city where it shows that there is danger lurking around every corner no matter the time of day. It makes for a more believable need for crime vigilante (in the movie world) to take place because of the crime rate. Its similar to how Gotham was riddled with crime and Bruce Wayne had to do something about it. 

“Death Wish” has to be the least Eli Roth-iest  Eli Roth movie ever. You know how he is with violence to the extent that his films are classified sometimes as torture porn. If there's anything you need to know about me, I hate torture horror films so seeing Roth deviate from his usual grotesque features is welcoming. "Death Wish," doesn't have the same amount of violence his other features have thankfully. Don't get me wrong, the violence is bloody and sometimes excessive especially in one scene where it gets incredibly, but it is still everything you would expect in an R rated action film.  It’s no “Hostel” or “Green Inferno,” but you still get that violence where people are just pieces of bloody meat and are splattered. Hey, Eli Roth had to show that he is ELI ROTH.

Besides him going crazy on the violence, his action sequences are well choreographed. The action sequences get intense to the extent that you wonder what if Roth directed a “Die Hard” sequel instead. Though some of the deaths are silly where people die by bowling balls, cars dropping, and falling from the stairs to the ground where they break their neck. Granted it is stupid, it's quite entertaining.The way how Willis shoot up people John McClane style had me visualizing this movie as an alternate universe “Die Hard” movie where McClane's family is murdered and his occupation is just your everyday surgeon. 

THE BAD

With today being a tough time where America is on the fence on reforming gun control, this was not a good time for this remake to be released AT ALL! The political subtext is well incorporated at first where you expect it to play a massive part of the narrative. Then as the film goes on, you realize the political messages are the equivalent of the Daily Bugle going, “Is Spider-Man a menace?” The story goes so hard attempting to have something to say with the sequences of radio hosts questioning about vigilante justice. But this is all under the primary storyline which is just this mindless revenge action thriller. It doesn’t mix well together at all.

When it gets down to it. The subtext is forced in so you can just go, “OH THESE RADIO GUYS ARE RIGHT!” In today's crazy social climate, the actions Kersey does is completely not okay. Every time he does shoot someone and how he has no expression, you can easily classify him as a psychotic. As an audience member you can't help but go "Mmm no,"  whenever, a joke a made about Kersey looking better after killing people. Most of them aren't even people that was involved in his wife's murder.

Willis may be the Punisher while Kingpin as his brother. For some reason, Vincent D’Nofrio is his brother while Dean Norris looks the most to Willis. Seriously do a side by side, and you can see the facial similarities. From the baldness, the small pupils, and the shit ton of forehead lines you can agree that they should’ve played brothers. Total miscasting opportunity here guys.

CAN WE STOP TYPECASTING DEAN NORRIS AS A COP IN EVERYTHING PLEASE!? From being a DEA officer to a sheriff to a detective. Can we please just have Dean Norris play as a regular average joe? I liked him in “Fist Fight” where he was just the angry principal. It doesn't help that Norris and Elise's characters are terrible at their job. They're not even bumbling cops but are just so lazy. These two officers don’t raise the stakes or add intensity of what if they catch Paul as the mass murderer because they take their sweet ass time going from one place to the next. And of course in the end, after going to the scene of the crime, Norris’ character wants to go eat food.

For the entire first act, Willis is sleepwalking through his performance. For the audience to fully invest and sympathize with Kersey, he has to show some sort of emotion at least when he finds out his wife is murdered in a home invasion. He doesn’t show it. He doesn’t express shock or sadness; he is just emotionless. That said, once he gets his hand on a gun, Willis is convincingly a badass like the good ol' days. Well he isn't as charismatic as he was in "Die Hard" but I guess he's close to , "The Expendables" ? 

LAST STATEMENT

It would’ve been more beneficial if Roth’s “Death Wish,” remake kept its original date of November of 2017 because um this one-note revenge action thriller that desperately wants to make a stance on gun control is not helping anyone right now. The movie has its fun moments, but in the end, it doesn’t make the shoot em up genre look good. Just not now guys.

Rating: 2.5/5 | 57%

Super Scene: Auto repair interrogation