Review of Death Wish (2018) by Scowly X — 08 Jun 2018

While not as good as the original, Death Wish 2018 is a satisfying movie. After reading the professional critics' reviews I thought I was going into a bomb. I saw a trailer months ago, had no idea it was ever in the theaters, then just happened to see it at Redbox. This is not a movie that was heavily promoted & now I know why: it's not politically correct to like this movie. When the critic & audience consensus is so far off, you can only blame one thing: politics. Now onto the movie.

The film itself is a remake in which Paul Kersey is a surgeon (instead of an architect) who has a great life in Chicago. Without going into spoiler territory, let's just say it all goes downhill from there. How the thieves/murderers get his address is scary but realistic... I doubt many people have thought of this.

The "family" scene isn't as hard to watch as the original, but it is still powerful. Since growing up in Chicago, Paul has no idea how to use a gun, but he quickly becomes wise. Then it's one awesome revenge scene after another as he tries to close a case the police cannot.

This movie doesn't paint the cops as idiots, just as people overworked from Chicago's storied violence problem. They don't have leads and can't really do anything unless they have something to go on.

The ending is great and unfortunately, due to the box office take, we probably won't see a sequel. I guess that's good for Paul's daughter, but still.

My only issue with the movie was Bruce Willis' acting. Yes, he's good and does the revenge parts well, but he doesn't seem particularly broken up after what happens to his family. Obviously, this didn't impact my score as this isn't the reason you're watching Death Wish.

If you're on the fence, pick it up and judge for yourself. I'm done with professional film critics as they have an agenda, which has nothing to do with moviemaking. The audience got this one right. Listen to them and enjoy!