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Directed by: Michael Winner Starring: Charles Bronson, Ed Lauter, Gavan O'Herlihy, Deborah Raffin. Surpassing the previous two films in the series (and the next two), and seeing as it was my introduction to the 'Death Wish' saga, I've decided to review this entry: Apparently through with his viligante streaks, Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) decides to visit an old friend of his, who lives in a neighbourhood controlled by a violent and menacing gang, led by the evil Fraker (Gavan O'Herlihy). Just before Kersey gets to the apartment, three members of the local gang beat his friend to death, which causes the arriving cops to accuse Kersey of murder. After almost escaping a beating in the holding cell, Kersey is given an ultimatum by hard-nosed cop Shriker (Ed Lauter): since the local police force can't do anything about the ever-worsening gang problem, Kersey will be given weapons and information to help dispose of the gang. When Kersey goes back to his friend's apartment, he encourages the residents to fight back as well. Cue the bloodshed... The first 'Death Wish' film was a good (if slow-moving) film, after his family is attacked by muggers, we watch Paul Kersey overcome his grief by trawling around rough parts of New York meting out his own form of revenge. 'Death Wish 2' was quite a move away from the first. This film wore its Exploitation routes proudly, containing slightly more violence than the first, and some rather disturbing rape scenes, all wrapped around a very thin plot. Much like part 3... Full of senseless violence, only a few slow bits, and containing a kick-arse music score from Jimmy Page, this film is perfect exploitation cinema. It seems that director Michael Winner was thinking "So what if the plot gets in the way, we're having a good time shooting this!" After watching the film, some folk might think that there was nothing wrong with that. Although set in New York, the film was actually shot in South London (except for a few location shots), and surprisingly works very well. A few of the bit parts' accents are shaky though. The final 20 minutes of the film has an extremely high body count, and is packed full of death, blood and absolute mayhem. If there's one important lesson that the previous films haven't told you: Don't gently caress with the Bronson! Having lost members of his family in the previous films, Kersey's hard-as-nails persona obviously won't stop him fighting back when innocent people are being victimised. Even though he looked like he didn't want to be in the film, the late great Bronson still gives a great performance. As for the other actors, Lauter also looks like he's having fun (although he apparently disowned his involvement with this film), and O'Herlihy is great as Kersey's evil and conniving nemesis. Also, look out for a young Alex Winter amongst the gang members. Although it's a good film, it does have it's drawbacks. Some of the acting involved is a bit iffy, especially Cannon Films regular Martin Balsam (who plays one of the residents), who acts like he's incontinent; and Deborah Raffin's character is pretty much useless in the film. And of course, the low budget does show up from here and there, but it seems to make it all the more gritty. Overall: This is not a serious study of the human condition. Just sit back, and be entertained by 90 minutes of low-budget mindless violence. RATING: 5 PROS: Bronson and Lauter's 'minimalist' performances; the last 20 minutes CONS: Almost invisible plot; rubbish performances from Raffin and Balsam ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089003/
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May 14, 2004 17:44
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 01:56 |
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I liked the part where the purse snatcher took off and he pulled out his .45 in the middle of a crowd and shot him in the back, then everyone stopped to clap. This is followed by a tremendously fat woman screaming hysterically at the cops that she's glad "The Giggler" is dead as they drag off his body. I have a small bias against this movie because I liked the first Death Wish as a serious and intelligent movie about crime and this one is exploitation. Utterly devoid of the feeling or thought, it manages to be more shallow than Death Wish 2, but the difference is that it doesn't try to dance upon the grave of the first movie like the second movie did. Essentially, Death Wish 3 is High Plains Drifter in an urban setting. Bronson comes to town and wipes out the guys in black while teaching the townsfolks to stand up for themselves. I tried to count how many punks Bronson actually kills, but I lost it when he took to the streets with a machinegun. I think the number is around 50, all street punks who Bronson is over 40 years older than, but whom he still manages to beat and outrun. Bronson himself is blank in this movie, being The Gun-toting Hero and all. I think the only line he gave any effort for was "I'm going out for some ice cream!" Deborah Raffin plays The Hero's Love Interest, who is so smitten with The Gun-toting Hero after a 30 second encounter that she wanders into crime-infested hell for a date with him. The other innocent characters are predictable to the point of laughter, especially the deaths. Maybe they enrage Joe Sixpack, who lives in a suburban home with no crime but likes to imagine he knows what's going on in the streets (and makes sure to watch movies with old people getting beaten to death by gangs or graphic rapes by drug dealers to support this illusion), but the true fans of these movies know there's no substance to any of these characters. They exist solely to die, and we're just waiting for it to happen to give the hero a reason to get trigger happy. If a character besides the hero tries to stand up to the mob, they're dead. If someone dreams of someday leaving the horrible city, they're dead. If you're related to or in love with the hero when the movie starts, you're definitely dead. The punks are also comic book punks. You can generally only tell one from the other by their clothing, and they exist only to be killed, either by pistol, shotgun, zip gun or rocket launcher (I think the movie would have done better business if it was titled "Death Wish: With a Rocket Launcher"). It's very entertaining if you like gratuitous violence and hilarity. Check out the scene towards the end where the little children are dancing around the dead punks singing "praise the lord". 3.5, they killed the Giggler, man. THEY KILLED THE GIGGLER!
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May 14, 2004 19:28
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