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Thursday, April 25, 2024
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HOLLYWOOD DEATH WISH
EDITOR'S PICK
'Death Wish': Slick but flighty popcorn entertainer (Review By Troy
Ribeiro ; Rating: **1/2)
A revenge thriller set in Chicago, Director Eli Roth's 'Death Wish' is a popcorn
entertainer, rehashed from a 1974-release and Director Michael Winner's
similarly titled film starring Charles Bronson.
While on the surface it seems a slick remake with the context in place, the
telling does seem a bit out of sync with the times. The most disturbing moment
in the original film was a hideous sexual violence committed against Bronson's
daughter, but in this movie, on the fateful night, a gang of masked burglars
sneak into Doctor Paul Kersey's house and the violence that followed seemed
staged in a way that is viciously effective but rather generic.
There were two gunshots -- his wife Lucy is killed and daughter Jordan left in
coma.
Paul gets frustrated with the police response. After realising that he can't get
justice through the system and with his father-in-law inciting him with "people
keep relying on the police to keep them safe. That's the problem', he decides he
has to get justice himself.
He turns into a vigilante and goes on a killing spree, eliminating the bad guys
in the city and invariably delivers justice to himself and his family.
The writing is lazy, right from the first scene -- which gives us an insight to
the crime rate in the city -- to the media circus that surrounds the emergence
of the mysterious urban vigilante and terming him as "Grim Reaper", to the way
the doctor executes his mission with a hood, gun et al.
Nothing is planned. Luck and destiny play a big role, making the entire process
seem frothy and frivolous.
There are quite a few action sequences with include -- shootouts, fisticuffs and
gore, but unfortunately they all seem like videogame stuff.
For a thriller, Bruce Willis seems jaded. But nevertheless he seems perfect to
play his part as Doctor Paul Kersey, the soft-spoken, tender and affectionate
father who will tolerate no-nonsense from trouble makers. His transition from a
civilized healer to an anonymous brutal street killer is mechanical. It does not
evoke any emotional sympathy or revulsion.
He is aptly supported by Elisabeth Shue as his wife Lucy, Camila Morrone as his
daughter Jordan, Vincent D'Onofrio as his brother Frank Kersey, Dean Norris as
Detective Raines, Kimberly Elise as Detective Jackson. They are all earnest.
On the technical front, the film is well-mounted but nothing deserves a special
mention. And overall, the film is lacklustre fare.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures presents director Eli Roth’s reimagining of the classic 1974 revenge thriller Death Wish. Dr. Paul Kersey (Bruce Willis) is a surgeon who only sees the aftermath of Chicago violence as it’s rushed into his ER – until his wife (Elisabeth Shue) and college-age daughter (Camila Morrone) are viciously attacked in their suburban home. With the police overloaded with crimes, Paul, burning for revenge, hunts for his family’s assailants to deliver justice. As the anonymous slayings of criminals grabs the media’s attention, the city wonders if this deadly avenger is a guardian angel or a grim reaper. Fury and fate collide in the intense, action-thriller Death Wish.
