Review of Death Wish (1974) by Tom T — 29 Dec 2010

By todays standards Death Wish is a little slow but offers the same basic elements as any other vigilante film. Charles Bronson stars as Paul Kersey, a property developer whose wife and daughter are assaulted by three muggers.

Resulting in his wife dying from her injuries and his daughter seeking mental medical help. This event triggers Kersey into a crusade where he shoots every criminal that crosses him while out in New York.

However the film doesn't seem to look and sound realistic and life like in a lot of scenes. More or less every where the main character goes in a massive city like New York; where the population is meant to be in the millions mark even in the 70's, he is either on his own or in the company of no more than three or four people.

Its as if they paid Charles Bronson so much money and were only able to get a few extras, which I probably saw more than once in the film. You can argue by saying that it adds to the tension of him being alone on a darkened street when a group of muggers come along, but even so it still need a few more extras in the scene.

Not only that but the script is a bit slack, as it doesn't give us much background on the characters and seems to focus on putting in the occasional Hollywood Cliche. But enough about the negatives of the film, if you're after a simple vigilante movie then give it a watch.

You may not be on the edge of your seat but you will find it satisfactory.