When
Charles Bronson starred in Michael Winner’s Death Wish in 1974, his career (at
least in America) had started to fade.
The role of Paul Kersey fit Bronson like a glove, and audiences
responded to his performance, making it a box-office smash. The film’s success rejuvenated Bronson’s career
and throughout the years, the increasingly wacky sequels found Bronson even
more legions of fans worldwide.
That’s
why a remake of Death Wish seems tailor made for Bruce Willis. Recently, Willis has been toiling away in the
DTV market. I’m not saying he’s been
sleepwalking in his performances lately, but that old time Bruno swagger has
been a scare commodity in recent years.
It’s been a while since he’s invested himself totally in a role.
I’m
glad to report that this is Bruce’s best performance in decades. His portrayal of Paul Kersey ranks up there
with the likes of John McClane and Joe Hallenbeck. Not only is the new Death Wish Bruce’s best
solo effort since Last Man Standing, it also happens to be the third best Death
Wish ever made.
We
shouldn’t have even doubted it. After
all, this is an Eli Roth movie we’re talking about here. Like the last couple of Roth pictures, Death
Wish ’18 has a knowing sense of humor about it that complements the graphic
violence nicely. The humor is never cartoonish
or at the expense of the characters, but it is often black as midnight and
funny as hell.
The
film follows the beats of the original for the most part. Paul Kersey is devastated by a home invasion
that leaves his wife murdered and his daughter comatose. Distraught, he grabs a gun and wanders into
the bad part of town shooting down muggers and thieves. He becomes a local antihero and the cops
quietly try to figure a way to put a lid on his vigilante activities.
The
biggest change is Kersey’s occupation.
I’m not sure I bought Charles Bronson as an architect in the original
series. I feel the same way about Bruce
Willis portraying a surgeon in this. However,
his skill set is a perfect complement to his vigilantism. When he gets shot during shootouts with
street thugs, he can always go home and patch himself up, usually by
MacGyvering something together using Krazy Glue and staples. His knowledge of human anatomy also gives him
the upper hand while torturing his victims.
I particularly loved the way Roth contrasted the duality of the
character during a split screen montage where Kersey pulls bullets out of his
patients while putting bullets into his gun.
Another
difference from the Bronson pictures:
Kersey isn’t a very good vigilante; at least in the beginning. In fact, he even hurts himself the first time he fires
a gun! In the original Death Wish, it
felt like Bronson was never in any danger… mostly because… he’s Charles Bronson. Here, there’s a feeling Bruce might actually
fulfill his death wish. I mean he can’t
even win an argument with an angry parent at his daughter’s soccer game. How will he fare against a heavily armed den
of thieves?
He’s
a quick learner though. The film is
structured like a Rocky movie. This iteration
of Kersey is an underdog and we’re rooting for him the whole time. There are even montages like Rocky that show
Kersey progressively getting better at shooting a gun.
Bruce
is better than he’s been in years. He
hits the right notes as a grieving husband who feels he’s let his family
down. He’s even better when it comes to
the scenes of him dishing out vigilante justice. The supporting cast is equally stellar. This is truly one of the finest ensemble
casts assembled in recent memory.
Vincent D’Onofrio is excellent as Willis’ brother. Their scenes together are some of the finest
work either man has ever done. I also
thoroughly enjoyed Dean Norris as the detective on the case who slowly gets
wise to Willis’ target practice.
Elizabeth Shue does a wonderful job as Willis’ wife. She and Bruce feel like a real married couple
and not just two actors playing scenes, which makes her death even more tragic.
Since
this is an origin Death Wish story, it doesn’t veer heavily into the
outrageousness that made the sequels so legendary. However, there are a few moments that live up
to the heights of the original series.
There’s a scene involving brake fluid that is cringe-inducing, and the
confrontation with a hoodlum known as “The Ice Cream Man” is as badass as
anything Bronson did in the O.G. D.W. franchise. By the time the bad guys make their final
siege on Willis’ home, he’s got a few tricks up his sleeve that Bronson himself
would approve of.
What
I’m saying is: Any self-respecting fan
of Death Wish or Bruce Willis needs to support this to ensure the survival of
the series. Can you imagine this
incarnation of Kersey waging war against The Giggler? Or using an exploding remote-controlled
soccer ball on gangsters? I for one am
all for it.
If
you enjoyed this review of Death Wish and are hungry for more reviews of Eli
Roth movies, be sure to purchase my latest book, The Bloody Book of Horror as
it contains reviews of Roth’s Knock Knock and The Green Inferno. You can purchase it through Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542566622/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520113366&sr=8-1&keywords=mitch+lovell
Or,
you can get the e-book version on Kindle:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B6TBVG1/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1520120839&sr=8-2&keywords=mitch+lovell
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