Another classic makes its way to the theaters in the form of an all too familiar remake. 1974’s Death Wish starring Charles Bronson was viewed as a call to arms for vigilantism. The subject matter was divisive, as people praised the unlawful “take matters into your own hands” attitude, while others were much more critical of the darker approach. Over the next twenty years, this franchise spawned four sequels which speaks highly of the message that was being conveyed. Now comes Eli Roth’s reimagining of the crime drama, which sounds very intriguing.
Paul Kersey (Bruce Willis) is a renowned surgeon married to a beautiful wife, Lucy (Elisabeth Shue), and they have a college bound daughter, Jordan (Camila Morrone). At a time when this family has so much to forward to and live for, tragedy strikes and shatters their foundation at the core. In a city that is overrun with violent crime, Paul loses his beloved wife and his daughter is left in a coma. A home invasion gone wrong leads to Paul completely changing his outlook on life. Once a man that prided himself in saving lives, this heartbroken widower has now become a person who is willing to take lives. Where do you draw line when doing bad things for a good cause becomes reality? Death Wish will take a stroll down this dark and twisted road.
Eli Roth is most comfortable filling his projects with terror, carnage and chaos. While Death Wish does not fall into his typical type work, the overall theme relates very closely to the three ingredients previously laid out. Roth’s natural style plays nicely with the original 1974 version, which is more of an avoided art these days in cinema. Well, at least for mainstream large budget movies we’ve become accustomed to. While a few key parts of the original narrative have been changed, the overall feel of this current movie remains the same.
Bruce Willis plays less of a badass (at least through the first half) than most of us are used to seeing from him. His strength is a gradual progression that feeds on his pain and suffering. As per usual, Bruce knows how to execute this plan of action. Vincent D’Onofrio and Dean Norris assist in some second level support but neither lives up to some of their more prominent roles of their past. As for the villains, there are no real compelling performances that are worth singling out.
Eli Roth dials back his signature thirst for over the top brutality and that’s a smart move to avoid alienating some potential fans of this remake. Still though, he doesn’t go “completely Hollywood” and abandon what makes Eli Eli. Death Wish contains just enough brutality to feed the bloodthirsty beasts out there but there is also a bit of restraint exercised. Unfortunately, the overall enjoyment factor is lacking, in part due to lackluster villains along with the simple fact that today’s fans need something more than what is offered here. At the end of the day, most will find this experience to be entertaining but not amazing. Sill though, Bruce Willis delivers where it counts and that should garner some attention this weekend.
