Hi, Anyone else seen this? Watched it for the first time last night and was blown away. It's a movie about justice and what exactly that entails. Is revenge justice? What can normal people do to protect themselves from violent criminals? How ought society balance this with the interests of those wrongly accused? The cycle of violence from victim to arguble perpetrator. Bronson was absolutely perfect. A REAL tough guy, who you can tell means business without a fight scene every 5 minutes. The music by Herbie Hancock was one of my favorite parts, at this stage in his career Hancock was into jazz fusion and uses Rhodes pianos prominently. A baffling choice for this sort of film, but it fits perfectly. If you're up for a popcorn flick that makes you think, check Death Wish 1 out if you haven't already.
What I liked about "Death Wish" was he was an ordinary guy who rose to the occasion. He throws up after his first kill. I suggest that you don't bother with the sequels, where he becomes a super hero. Incidentally, did you noticed an uncredited Jeff Goldblum playing one of the three original punks?
I did! The instant he entered the scene, can't miss him. I watched #2 straight after. Stuck to pretty much the same formula. I didn't find it considerably worse than the first. Enjoyed both. Unlike a lot of stories that ad hoc develop into sequels they had at least some unresolved plot lines. His daughter's death was fkn brutal. Plenty of anti-heroes around. I feel like Bronson was an anti-villain in the first.
I'd encourage all sides of the gun control/self defense issue to watch it. It definitely challenges both viewpoints. For the left, it shows how placing all our trust in the state is not always sufficient to ensure our safety. For the right, it shows how self defense can creep beyond that into vigilante violence. He finds himself in situtions where self defense is justified at first, then progressively goes out looking for a fight. _______________________________ It was refreshing to watch an action film that challenges your core beliefs. And not just in one direction.
I watched 3 last night. I feel like while they had enough room to move in #2 to do basically the exact same story, if they were going to do #3 it had to escalate. As a run and gun action flick it was pretty fun. I enjoyed it. I never felt bored or like switching flicks. You're right about him becoming a superhero. At one point he is stabbed in the abdomen, he karate chops the guy in the face and the guy bleeda to heavily out of hia mouth you'd have thought Bronson cut out hia tongue. He then proceeds to reveal body armour. Using a 50 cal machine gun ia ridiculous. The attitude of the cops is completely ridiculous. By this point, Bronson is all it has going for it.
Just watched Death Wish 4. After Paul dispenced with self defense and started seeking out confrontation in DW1 he just kind of continued this process in each future movie. By DW4 he has basically become the DEA. Maybe the Death Wish series is an analogy for American government, I dunno. All I know is he starts off with limited scope and by the fourth movie is firebombing innocent bartenders and ravaging the intestines of 24 year old music producers who sell keys of cocaine with gunshots. The fake silent suppressor sound reenforces the myth that suppressed shots are silent. Sad to see it get to this level, like seeing Anakin murder a class full of jedi children.
I have not seen the original Death Wish in decades, but it was very much a movie of it's time. Crime was sky high and the police viewed as ineffectual. It played on the very real crime fears of the era. Does it still hold up in an era where crime is a great deal lower? I think that's why the remake bombed. People don't have those fears of crime that they did in the 1970's.
"You believe in Jesus?" "Yes sir." "You're going to meet him." I think Charles Bronson was an awful actor, but I loved him anyway. He was a tail gunner on a B29 in ww2. Hot wife. Muy hombre.
~ I too am a fan of Death Wish #1 & #2. Sadly after that the following sequels became ridiculous. #2 is my favorite - filmed right here in various location of Los Angeles - mostly Hollywood. " Are you talking to ME ... ?! "
