Review of Death Wish 3 (1985) by Matthew B — 28 Dec 2015

Charles Bronson is Paul Kersey, a man with a personal vendetta against all criminals. Charles ability to show Paul's pain and anger is as fresh and relevant as it was in 1985. Even though Charles was a raging alcoholic his is able to function ( thankfully) well enough that you cannot tell that he was drunk the entire time this movie was filmed. Christian Bale would do well to use this movie as a guideline to replace his rather mediocre portrayal of vigilante justice in The Dark Knight.

This is pretty much as violent and realistic as 80's action gets. No race, gender, or age group is spared. You want senior citizens beaten and set on fire, you got it! Want to see Counselor Troi from Star Trek TNG getting raped, no problem! Bill S Preston, Esq as a murdering thug, oh yeah! Fun for all ages. Charles Bronson is dead, but his corpse could still kick your ass.

Best scene: a detective is looking over the body of Charles Bronson's first victim and THE BODY IS PERFECTLY INTACT, and says" well, theres not much left" and walks away. Also Paul can make a trap out of anything. as long as it is a green 2x6 board, and some string.

As a tasty tidbit: the musical score by Jimmy Page, lead singer of a thankfully forgotten seventies rock band, brings to us a sacrifice, a labor of love that gives each scene a depth and nuance that was maybe approximated by John William's rather commercial but still in some ways enjoyable.

Compositions for E.T.