Review of Death Wish (2018) by Thequietgamer — 16 Jun 2018

Those hoping for a return to form for Bruce Willis are sure to be disappointed. Not only is the movie itself another black mark on his once respectable resume, but even though this is his first starring role in a big theatrical release since 2013's Red 2 the actor doesn't put any effort into his performance. One could argue that he was going for subdued. I personally think we just sleepwalking through another role. Same can be said for any of the white actors onscreen that aren't Vincent D'Onofrio.

The movie itself is cliché and super predictable. Weirdly enough Death Wish is overly sentimental, but nothing manages to connect with the audience on an emotional level. Given Eli Roth's penchant for extreme blood and gore, one wouldn't be blamed for thinking that if the writing fell flat (which it does) at least the action would be entertaining. Unfortunately, with the exception of one auto body shop torture scene this talent of his goes underutilized making this Roth's most restrained film to date. After shocking the world with grindhouse throwback films like Hostel, Cabin Fever, and The Green Inferno it's sad to see the director come out with something so pedestrian.

Like a lot of gun heavy, vigilante revenge flicks, Death Wish takes a brief peek at the social conflicts arising from it's character's actions via radio talk shows and social media, briefly hints at the dilemma of gun control, and then completely shies away from actually saying anything about these issues. I get that diving into this morally grey area is tricky and could you blacklisted, but if you're going to make a movie that's so very clearly pro-gun as this then you might as well just come right out and defend your position rather than just tiptoeing around it. The opposition certainly has no qualms about expressing their views and it would have gone a long way towards making this movie not feel so limp and lifeless.