The Death Wish franchise of the 1970s, like the Planet of the Apes franchise, milked every dollar they could out of sequels. Unlike Planet of the Apes, there wasn't anything in the original films that screams to me remake. A couple of them were decent films, and Charles Bronson was the man in that era. But I'm just not sure we needed a 2018 make-over. They are not horrible films, but they don't tread any new ground.
Paul Kersey (Bruce Willis) is a surgeon at Chicago North Hospital. His daughter Jordan (Camilla Morrone) will soon graduate high school and head to New York for college. She is smart and athletic, with a bright future ahead of her. He lives with his daughter and wife Lucy (Elizabeth Shue) in a beautiful north shore home. Their live sheltered lives. That is, until a burglary ring hits their house while Jordan and Lucy are home. The burglars shatter everything Paul believed about himself and his life. With his daughter clinging to life in a coma and no movement on the police investigation, Paul decides to take matters into his own hands.
When a firearm drops from the waistband of a patient in the emergency room, Paul manages to tuck it away without anyone noticing. He practices shooting in preparation for some homegrown crime fighting. One of his interventions goes viral, sparking public debate over vigilantism. As Paul increases the stakes, the police and a dangerous criminal appear to be converging, leaving him with few options and likely consequences. The decisions he makes will determine if he lives or dies, or if he spends the rest of his life in prison.
Okay, first things first. Death Wish is hackneyed and hokey. Director Eli Roth took a mediocre franchise and created a mediocre remake. This film had potential to be decent, but it really felt like it was just checking the boxes. Writer Joe Carnahan, who adapted the screenplay, didn't really give us anything new. There should have been a surprising twist here. Or a fresh look. Instead, we get a fairly formulaic regurgitation of the original films. A bit more vanilla, if anything. I like Bruce Willis, he is the kind of guy who should be able to make a film like this work. But the writing didn't do anything to endear me to his character.
There are several characters in this film, but the film is really carried by Willis. The other characters are pretty much window dressing. Morrone was excellent as Kersey's daughter. She didn't need to do much beyond lying down and looking like she is in a coma, but there was something engaging about her at the beginning of the film that made her likable. The actor that added something to this film for me was Frank Kersey (Vincent D'Onofrio) who played Paul's brother. The writers made him a slight wild card at the beginning, but slowly brought the character around. D'Onofrio was excellent, adding a little bit of flavor to an otherwise bland story. Willis did his part to sell the film, but it's not one that I would recommend seeing in the theater.
Death Wish is a one hour, 47 minute film. The MPAA gave this film an R rating for the violence, which includes sexual assault against women. The bloody violence was a little bit gory, with the exception of a scene involving a car that was exceptionally gory. Almost disturbing. The rating is well deserved, even though they chose not to depict the violent rapes that set the stage for the original franchise. This is a film designed for older audiences. I would suggest teen audiences or better at a minimum.
There is not much positive to say about milquetoast mediocrity. Death Wish does not tread any new ground. The film was nostalgic in a way, but predictable and unoriginal. I would like to have seen a new twist. The acting was solid, the writing tolerable and the pacing excellent. I wanted to like this film more than I did. But I found the film to be a weak attempt to rehash an overdone franchise. If you are a fan of the 70s films, you will probably find enough to like here. But I would suggest waiting for it to stream. Based on my initial impression, that shouldn't be too long. 6/10.
Trailer and photos property of MGM.
