Released: March 2018
Director: Eli Roth
Rated R
Run Time: 107 Minutes
Distributor: MGM Studios
Genre: Action/Thriller
Cast:
Bruce Willis: Paul Kersey
Vincent D’Onofrio: Frank Kersey
Elizabeth Shue: Lucy Kersey
Camila Morrone: Jordan Kersey
Dean Norris: Detective Kevin Raines
Beau Knapp: Knox
Kimberly Elise: Detective Leonore Jackson
Remakes are a pretty tricky business, especially if you’re remaking a film that was released over 40 years ago. The hurdle that most remakes have to face is whether or not they are going to be relevant to the issues at the time the remake is going to be released. Another issue is whether or not they will be bringing something new to the table. I can list off a number of remakes that are actually really good: John Carpenter’s The Thing, The Blob(1988), The Fly, Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula(1992), Beauty and the Beast, and Fist of Legend just to name a few. But for every Thing, there is a Psycho remake. So….where does Eli Roth’s Death Wish end up? Let’s find out.
The film starts in Chicago as a cop that was shot by gang-bangers ends up dying at a nearby hospital. This hospital employs Paul Kersey, who couldn’t save the cop’s life. Later, Kersey and his family are trying to celebrate a birthday when he’s called back to the hospital. Unfortunately, his wife and daughter are caught in a violent home robbery with Paul’s wife dead and his daughter in a coma. Frustrated that the cops have no leads or are unable to crack the case, Kersey decides to take things into his own hands and metes out brutal vengeance. The story is pretty straight-forward and doesn’t deviate, but the problem here, is that we’ve seen this story done a million times before, going all the way back to the original Death Wish starring Charles Bronson. There’s nothing really new that’s been added and it just feels like a “by-the-numbers” thriller, which it is. Also, one of the controversies about the film is that it was released not too far long after a recent school shooting here in the States. Is it bad timing? Sure, but is the film a victim of bad timing? No. The film is a victim of being a remake of a vastly superior film. The original film was relevant for the time because there was something to say about the state of violence in the country at the time. Eli Roth’s film tries to be relevant for TODAY’S audiences, but it comes across as a cheap gimmick.
I’m a huge fan of Eli Roth’s work as a director. He’s got a very unique eye for certain details as well as absurd amounts of ultra-violence, and he brings that same sensibility to Death Wish. Does that make it a better film? Not really, because he’s not particularly great at the slower and more character-oriented moments. In fact, most of the characters in this film are fairly disposable. The villains are your cookie-cutter home invaders with no real personality. No, they exist to get the snot beat out of them or violently disposed of. I have to say this: The film does look really, really good. It’s well-framed and you can see everything that’s going on. There’s no shaky-cam or extreme close-ups to get in the way of the carnage. Props to the film-makers for that. The set designs and costumes are what you would expect from a film like this. Thankfully, the movie does not rely on CGI gore. Oh, no. Most of what you see is practical. Is it over-the-top? Yeah, but it does make you cringe at some of the violence. There were audience members, like myself that went, “oh, shit!” when something gruesome happened. From a technical standpoint, this is a decent film.
This film was touted to be Bruce Willis’s big comeback. Is it really, though? Kinda, if you’re looking for an ass-kicking Bruce Willis. I think he does alright with the material, but I just don’t buy Bruce Willis as this superstar surgeon. He just doesn’t have the look for it. Vincent D’Onofrio plays Paul’s brother Frank, and I have to say, Vincent is pretty good. He’s always fun to watch, whether he’s playing a bad guy or a good guy. He’s a chameleon. Dean Norris plays the detective investigating the crime that hit Kersey’s family. Dean Norris has turned out to be a pretty stellar, if underrated actor. He’s been in so many movies and tv shows over the past 30 years, it’s surprising that he’s not really been given the kind of attention that he deserves. Elizabeth Shue plays Lucy, Paul’s wife and she’s….there. Outside of those few actors, there’s really nobody else worth mentioning. Look, I’m a huge fan of Bruce Willis, and even at his worst, he’s still fun to watch. He will always be Korben Dallas to me.
The original Death Wish with Charles Bronson was a statement on the nature of violence and justice(or lack thereof)as well as the consequences of vigilantism. The new film doesn’t really project that very well, especially in today’s world with the internet, social media, smart phones, and all other sorts of technology. One of the other issues that I had with this film, is that Eli Roth’s interpretation of the Kersey doesn’t have him being anti-gun. Charles Bronson’s version was clearly against the use of violence but he had legitimate reasons for that, except when he was pushed to far. While the new film is heavy on the carnage, it doesn’t really have a lot to say about violence or when and why to use it. Do all these issues make Eli Roth’s film a bad movie? No, far from it. I had a good time with this one, it just doesn’t do enough to stand out in a genre crowded by movies inspired by the film’s namesake. I think it’s worth a look, at least. Bruce Willis dispatching bad guys never gets old, at least not for me.
My Final Recommendation: Pissing off Bruce Willis is a very, very bad idea. 7.5/10.