Summary
A mild mannered man is brought to his melting point after a violent act towards his family.
My Thoughts
Remakes and reboots seem to be all the rage in Hollywood at the moment, from the live action Disney films, re-imagining our beloved animated childhood films into a bigger vision; there's the Spider-Man movies which may be getting another reboot in the coming years; and then there's the movies that aren't even asking for a remake, there's fine movies made years back that still transcend the test of time. 'The Princess Bride' is a perfect recent example, such a perfect film does not need the hands of Hollywood Elites to make another version, that magic struck once, with a perfect cast and director, that lightning will never strike twice, and thankfully people around the globe agree. Then at the bottom there's mediocre movies that for some reason filmmakers think they should remake it into another mediocre movie, and that's the case of 'Death Wish.'
“Death Wish” first came out in 1977 starring Charles Bronson, this film was a comeback vessel for Bronson who was fading out of stardom, despite this original film having some excellent scenes and Charles Bronson chewing the scenes up, there's not much else to be offered from this generic revenge thriller, although it did put Bronson back on the stage and spawned a few sequels itself, people like a decent vengeful thriller. Over thirty years later director Eli Roth (“Cabin Fever”) decides that Death Wish needs a reboot, and who else would fit a worn out movie star way past his prime than Bruce Willis (“Pulp Fiction”), the far less likable version of Charles Bronson, a man who cares so little about the rolls he's given it's almost laughable.
Eli Roth is an acquired taste, I won't say he's not a skilled director, he definitely has a style in terms of his anarchic violence and mayhem, but he sacrifices story and character for the latter, 'Hostel' and 'The Green Inferno' both solidify that, as both have grisly violence which will appeal to horror/Gore aficionados but both lack in any other sort of substance. Death Wish however doesn't deliver on story or violence, besides one scene of fairly brutal torture, Roth plays it pretty safe with this reboot which is unfortunate because that could have been its one saving grace, but instead this generic by the numbers revenge flick is just that, and has nothing else to bring to the table. The story is predictable and forgettable, Willis plays a mild mannered man whose life turns into that of a vigilante after his family is murdered, and it plays out as anyone who has seen 'Taken' or any Steven Segal movie would think.
Boring boring boring!
When the director isn't giving it their all, it will show with the performances, Bruce Willis is not only bored out of his mind in this, he simply doesn't care, what little range and promise he once had is completely gone. It's not too hard to draw inspiration on a grieving father who wants to avenge his family, but somehow Willis is completely void of any emotion, the garage torture scene only works because of the effects, and even the secondary actors out pace him. It's honestly quite hard to watch the once iconic man from 'Die Hard' stoop so low in his career, it would be better if he were just to retire and if Eli Roth would go back to doing gore fests.
Overall Death Wish isn't worth anyone's time, the original is far and away a better film, which isn't saying a whole lot as that one isn't all that great either, but at least it offers more memorable moments than this remake. It's just another reason why old movies should just be left alone, there's plenty of books in libraries with original ideas that are begging to be made into Hollywood films, but instead the industry is lazy and thinks people will just bank on whatever is familiar. Give us originality, not these underproduced slapped together remakes.
I give Death Wish 1.5 out of 5 stars.
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