What happens when filmmakers try to remake a 1970s campy, cult hit into a high budget and overly serious drama in 2018? “Death Wish” happens, and the moviegoers who went to see it probably wish it never did.
“Death Wish” was a 1970s movie about a man whose family is killed during a home invasion, who then sets out to become a vigilante and find the people who murdered his family. The movies are very simple and served as an easy way to capitalize on the rising crime rates and fears of the United States during the 1970s. The movies are inoffensive, even though Charles Bronson, the lead actor, murders dozens of people during them, and goes out every night just to find people to kill. Some critics over the years have criticized that the true villain in the movie is the protagonist. However, despite this, the movies have fallen into cult favorites and lived on in criminal justice classes and YouTube movie reviewers’ videos.
However, in 2016, famed horror director Eli Roth and production company MGM Studios decided to remake the original movie. The film brought on Bruce Willis to star as Paul Kersey and then began production; the movie released March 2, 2018 to awful reviews.
“Death Wish” revolves around Paul Kersey, a surgeon who has everything he needs, including a wife and a high school senior daughter. However, after his brother takes debt and tells the wrong person that the family is rich, Paul’s family gets assaulted in a home invasion. This home invasion leaves Paul’s wife dead and his daughter in a coma. After this, Paul decides to become the “grim reaper” and protect the city against crime.
Perhaps the movie’s biggest sin is its content matter and the year in which it was released. A movie like “Death Wish” can exist in the 70s because it is campy. It’s silly, not to be taken seriously, and more for watching with friends than for serious film critique. However, in 2018, the movie was released and seemed like a masculine dream. Paul Kersey is not Batman or Daredevil; he is not a superhero who is protecting people. He is simply a real-life murderer who takes justice into his own hands. Rightfully frustrated that the police can’t solve his wife’s murder, instead of divulging the information he finds in his investigation to the police, he opts to murder the people responsible instead. If this movie encourages anyone to go out and do what the character does, there would be a nationwide manhunt to stop him.
“Death Wish” was originally set to release in November 2017. However, it was delayed to March 2, weeks before its release, possibly due to the Las Vegas shooting just days before. Unfortunately, the movie still fell only 16 days after the Parkland mass shooting. Many critics and online reviewers have used this poor timing as the movie’s biggest fault. However, that would imply that the film would have a good time to come out. While in the current climate of the United States it is bad to release a tasteless movie about a “good guy with a gun.” The movie is not bad because of its timing, it is bad because it is bad. .
The acting from everybody is wooden, to say the least. The cast is incredibly weighted, with Bruce Willis, Vincent D’Onofrio, Dean Norris and Mike Epps all having significant roles, but not being used to their full potential. All of these actors can be amazing given good writing, however, all of them are written to be amazingly boring. Bruce Willis just delivers his lines with no emotion whatsoever, and Dean Norris is just playing the same character he played on Breaking Bad for four seasons.
This poor acting is translated to the film’s poor tone. It is unclear if the movie wants to be a heart-wrenching drama or a black comedy. There are jokes being cracked by the main character in one scene, with the next scene being the character talking to a therapist about how broken up he is.
“Death Wish” adds nothing to the conversation, it is just a note to note remake of the 1970s movie and adds nothing to the larger genre of “revenge action.” This isn’t even a movie that you can just go watch, turn your brain off and enjoy; there are better versions of that same movie that you could see. “Death Wish” commits the cardinal sin of action movies—it’s boring.
0 out of 5 paws.
