Death Wish (2018) Movie Review

Kimbo

Pinball Wizard
Nov 24, 2014
8,902
47
0
yes
Genre: Action
Year: 2018
Starring: Bruce Willis, Vincent D'Onofrio, Elisabeth Shue, Dean Norris, Kimberly Elise
Directed: Eli Roth

Plot:

Dr. Paul Kersey is an experienced trauma surgeon, a man who has spent his life saving lives. After an attack on his family, Paul embarks on his own mission for justice.


Laser's Take:
So it takes some serious guts to make a remake of such legendary status (in my opinion), first let start by stating the differences in both the original Charles Bronson no nonsense Architect Paul Kersey (an everyday Joe) and Bruce Willis Doctor Paul Kersey (seen everything emergency room Doctor) which is a a completely different persona which translated into the movie. The original movie location was New York which is tough and rude while the new version takes place in Chicago...I guess they needed a change :rolleyes: , the original had a more violent, no hold barres action, and nudity which was the epitomy of the 70's and early to mid 80's dark action movies ala Dirty Harry where is the wild west and the violence runs rampant, to this 2018 remake where is more contained....seriously they even cut away from some of the violence and gore to a more TV like violence and a obviously non shocking and expected scenes. This new version also contains some scenes such as the bowling ball and AK47 in drawer which is so cartoonish that even my inlaws laught...seriously!! It was hard for me to sympathize with Bruce Willis's Paul Kersey and his perfect white picket fence family even with the loser Brother in law....The detectives were comical and to be honest the best scenes of the movie!
I would watch this movie just to see any resemblence to a great actor Charles Bronson in it but it had zero, don't get me wrong is not a terrible movie but is not that good either.

Laser's Grade: 4 out of 10 starts
 
Last edited:
I've been a Charles Bronson fan for a long time. Yes, his later stuff paled -- somewhat -- I'll admit that, but the DW franchise was pretty darned cool. The thought that it was being redone played on my fragile psyche.

I'll have to watch this for the heck of it. I am, however, somewhat surprised Bruce Wllis would be willing to do it. Did he think the script was that much better than the original or that he could be a better Paul Kersey than Charles Bronson?

Thanks for your insights, Laser. I'll chime back in after I've watched it.
 
I would have preferred Liam Neeson, But then you would have to change the script. Little trivia - Death Wish 2 (one of my favorite of all time) soundtrack was done by no other than Jimmy Page (Zoso)!!!
 
I watched it and agree with your review, Laser. Unlike with Bronson's Paul Kersey, I never developed any empathy for Willis' Paul Kersey. The relationship with his wife didn't develop as gracefully as it did for Bronson's Paul Kersey. Moreover, while Bronson's character was conflicted when he started his vigilante crusade, that redeeming quality didn't surface in Willis' portrayal. The movie was worth a watch, however, but in my estimation it fell well short of the original. Of course, that may be one of the problems for this movie in my case. I kept comparing it to the original movie which has been near and dear to me for several decades. It would be awfully hard for it to live up to such lofty expectations.
 
Last edited:
My two favorite Bronson movies were......... Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) where Bronson played Harmonica. The director, Sergio Leone, once called him "the greatest actor I ever worked with" and Hard Times (1975), playing a Depression-era street fighter making his living in illegal bare-knuckled matches in Louisiana...

Don't get me wrong....I enjoyed a lot of Bruce Willis movies back in the day............But he is getting a little long in the tooth for action movies......He should look for grandpa movie parts..............
 
Last edited: