I always wondered why the Gotham police department has such a problem with Batman. Here's this dude sticking his neck out to catch bad guys, which is their job by the way, and instead of thanking him, they try to hunt him down! What's up with that? Then I watch a movie like Death Wish and realize exactly why vigilante justice, and the notion of the comic book hero, could never work. It's dicks like Paul Kersey ruining the fun for everyone.
Okay we get it, you're grieving for your wife's murder and the rape of your daughter. You're tired of the injustice you see around you. Your city is filled with low lives and scum. You don't have the means to build a Batmobile or the physique to fit in a skin tight costume. All you got is a gun and this ridiculous looking mustache and your misplaced sense of social justice. But, Paul, let's call a spade a spade here. Why are you pretending to be a vigilante when you're actually a serial killer a la Dexter Morgan? You just want to see bad guys die, you cold hearted son of a bitch!
Apparently when Death Wish first came out it was panned by critics for its violence and message of vigilantism. I wouldn't have a problem with either if not for the fact that its so forcefully shoved down the viewer's throat. Death Wish actually does a good job in being a revenge flick where it can be exciting and powerful. Where it fails however is when it tries to act as some sort of social commentary when it just sounds pompous. Once Paul Kersey goes all Charles Bronson (i.e. badass) on the world, you can't go five minutes without some sort of conversation about vigilantism, crime, gun laws, etc etc. There is even a random unsolicited blurb at a cocktail party about the relationship between race and crime. Death Wish doesn't know if it wants to be an action film or some community college sociology discussion. In fact, the whole thing reeks of a propaganda piece, probably sponsored by the NRA or Batman himself. Well probably not Batman since he wouldn't condone of killing people.
I could even stomach the pro-gun pro-vigilante stance Death Wish takes if it weren't such a poorly conceived and poorly acted movie as well. Characters are completely one dimensional caricatures and New York City is like the end of Batman Begins where all the inmates escape and run wild through the city. I've seen Bronson before in his big hits like The Dirty Dozen and The Great Escape, but those performances escape me right now. His performance in Death Wish is mixed at best, though I'll admit he does appeal to me, though more for his legacy than his actual acting skills, which from my sample size of one seems pretty limited to me.
Grade: C
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