Review of Death Wish (1974) by Johnathon W — 17 Feb 2018

Iconic but dated vigilante film that holds up mostly due to Charle Bronson's superb performance. Bronson gives one of his best leading performances, ably playing an intelligence but mild-mannered man forced to extremes when something horrible happens to him.

You buy him as an architect just trying to move on with his life but slowly see him descend into a dark path. Most interestingly, he doesn't go after his family's attackers (he doesn't suddenly turn into a detective as well) but instead hunts down similar street criminals (granted, by setting them up by playing a victim).

Behind the camera, director Michael Winner gives a nicely low-key film, that never gets outlandish and you slowly see Paul Kersey morph into a vigilante. He also highlights the politics & the police work involved as Kersey's vigilante mission begins, as the police are pretty quick to figure out who is doing it but find themselves in the position of turning him into a martyr.

The film is dated, particularly the setting (NYC is not nearly as bad, which is probably why the remake is now in Chicago), and outside of Bronson, no one else in the cast shines. Overall, an iconic film in the vigilante genre but far from a perfect one.