“What would you do to protect your family?” is the tagline to this remake of the 1974 film “Death Wish”, originally starring Charles Bronson. As remakes go, they can be mainly ghastly and few rarely go on to be a hit with fans of the original, not to mention new fans! Did this remake live up to the classic, do much better or is it a movie to forget? Read my review to find out.
Out of all of this year’s movies up until this point, there has been a few gems I would consider keeping in my collection and worthy of watching again and again, but nothing with the ‘wow’ factor! Now, I didn’t know there was a remake of Death Wish until it literally dropped on my lap. I was a fan of the originals; yes, there were four Death Wish sequels altogether! Shocked!? Each one got worse as the series went on! How one guy can have so much bad luck is simply insane! However, we’re not here to shoot down the original series but concentrate on the new remake.
Taking over Bronson’s shoes is none other than cult action hero Bruce Willis, who I did not realise was even in the film until I checked out the cinema listings. Not much in the way of promotion for this film I felt. The last movie I watched with Bruce Willis was “A Good Day to Die Hard” which I wanted to forget about almost immediately after watching it. Since then he’s appeared in a lot of low budget films and bit parts and nothing really that stands out.
However within the first five minutes, I knew I wanted to stay in the cinema and this was going to be a very good film indeed, if not the best of 2018! Surgeon Paul Kersey (Bruce Willis) and his wife Lucy Kersey (Elizabeth Shue) live a normal happy life and have a beautiful daughter Jordan Kersey (Camillia Morrone). But sadly all that changes when burglars gain entry to the house and end up killing his wife and putting his daughter into a coma. Distraught, Kersey believes the police will find the culprits but time passes by and nothing comes to light, so he takes matters into his own hands and becomes a vigilante on the streets of Chicago, trying to track down those responsible!
I thought that the script was very well executed and acted excellently by all and the action scenes were awesome! Notably Elizabeth Shue stood out for me in her short appearance has Lucy Kersey as well as Vincent D’Onofrio has Frank Kersey. Not to mention this is undoubtedly Bruce Willis’ best movie since the original Die Hard… welcome back Bruce!
Bruce Willis steps into the role originally played by Charles Bronson (pictured).
The film has everything of a cult classic in the making and 100% better than the original… just wow! Also a note to the squeamish there are a few gruesome parts in the film as we see him taking revenge on the culprits. Not a second went by where I was bored. The movie’s pace is perfection and director Eli Roth, famous for his work in horror films, shows us how action movies should be made.
Reading other reviews, I have no idea what the critics were watching and reviewing but they got it completely wrong slating this film. It is a must-see. Go and watch this, it has all the elements that a great film needs and you will be hooked from the start to finish, without a dull moment. I enjoyed every second of this film, and it’s nothing like the original at all! It’s easy when the original is not the greatest starting point, which helps but it’s superbly directed, excellently paced and the acting is absolutely superb… not one to be missed! Get to the cinema! Note to others: this is how remakes should be made!
Author: Paul, York store
