Death Wish (2018)

[Scottie]

4K

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=304226

Standard

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Death...lu-ray/202087/

[Hubunkey]

Hoping for an unrated that actually shows the attack on the wife and daughter

[SkyTech6]

My theater tried to get this but a mess up with getting confirmations for other movies made us delayed and had to use Death Wish's week for another movie

And I didn't get the time off work to see it... looking forward to a blu ray redbox viewing and hopefully it's good enough for a purchase.

[amper]

Originally Posted by SkyTech6

My theater tried to get this but a mess up with getting confirmations for other movies made us delayed and had to use Death Wish's week for another movie

And I didn't get the time off work to see it... looking forward to a blu ray redbox viewing and hopefully it's good enough for a purchase.

Its good enough for a purchase. I was pleasantly surprised.

[StoneOasis]

Saw this in the theatre...on the smallest screen, on it's opening night

I enjoyed it, will pick up the blu for sure.

[Chaotic]

[The Great Owl]

Here's my movie content review of the Death Wish remake that I posted a while back. I'm not huge on this movie, but I might be up for the Blu-ray if it brings the trademark Eli Roth extras to the table.


Paul Kersey, played by Bruce Willis, is a good-natured emergency room surgeon who treats a seemingly endless deluge of gunshot victims from the streets of Chicago and who enjoys an affluent suburban life with his wife, played by Elisabeth Shue, and his teenage daughter, played by Camila Morrone. One night, after he is called back to the hospital, a violent home invasion by three burglars leaves his wife dead and his daughter in a coma. The grief-stricken Paul becomes increasingly dismayed by the inability of local police detectives to find the assailants, and he eventually takes matters into his own hands by acquiring a pistol and roaming the streets in a hoodie to exact brutal justice on evildoers in the community. His vigilantism quickly turns into a media sensation when cell phone footage of his violent escapades hits the web, and he becomes known to local radio talk show personalities as the “Grim Reaper.”

Death Wish, a new remake of the vastly superior 1974 movie that starred Charles Bronson, is being skewered by critics because of the timing of its release in the midst of hyperbolic gun control debates on social media just weeks after the tragic mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. I do not believe that it is fair to judge this movie based on recent events, nor do I believe that violent films are the root of real-life evils. For most of us who watch movies for entertainment and not for guidance on how to live our lives, this reinterpretation of the classic vigilante story is a serviceable, albeit somewhat banal, slice of action mayhem that is just controversial enough to be uncontroversial. This is an entertaining feature, but it also lacks the character nuances of the original film, and it is nowhere near as disturbing as the original film. Many will be thankful that the home invasion attack on Paul's family is not as viscerally exploitative and that it simply comes across as a bad clone of The Purge, but the collateral casualty of this decision is that we have less empathy for Paul in his quest for revenge.

Unlike Bronson's original character, who was visibly shaken after his first killing, Bruce Willis's incarnation of Paul Kersey seems to become quickly comfortable with taking human lives, and he even spouts off a one-liner before pulling the trigger on his second target. Willis's performance, in fact, exudes the same calmly phoned-in feel that has defined his recent second-tier action movie efforts. The deliberately mundane early scenes with his wife and daughter fail to establish a genuine emotional foothold for the bloodshed that follows, and the narrative decision to have his wife and daughter attacked while they are in the kitchen making a birthday cake for him is so contrived that it invites facepalms from the audience. Vincent D'Onofrio, who plays Paul's brother, has some of the best character moments, but even his dramatic sequences lack real tension.

Director Eil Roth, whose gleefully tasteless films, Cabin Fever, Hostel, Hostel: Part II, The Green Inferno, and Knock Knock, combine graphic violence with satire, has always lent an oddly endearing “dude-bro” sensibility to the horror genre, and, although his previous efforts are not outright scary, I have always appreciated his unabashed love for classic exploitation cinema. Roth's Blu-ray commentary tracks are generally even more entertaining than his actual movies, because of his approachable vibe and his wealth of knowledge about drive-in fare. As such, I was hoping that his version of Death Wish would embrace its exploitation leanings full-tilt in a relentlessly unapologetic way that would earn ire from politically-correct social justice warriors while delivering pulse-racing back alley confrontations. The problem with this film is that it is too noncommittal with regard to either side of the ideology coin. The scenes that poke fun at America's gun culture, namely the ones featuring a gorgeous blonde gun emporium clerk played by Kirby Bliss Blanton, are slightly amusing but too obvious. On the flip side, the moments of gun fetishism, especially where Paul cleans a Glock to the tune of AC/DC's “Back in Black”, come across like tired retreads of infinitely better action classics. Even Roth's trademark blood-splattered gore scenes are muted here, save for one memorable killing in a mechanic's garage.

This film's main redeeming factor is found in Roth's depictions of radio talk shows, moronic Facebook memes, and heavy-handed television news coverage. The vapid cacophony of social media exchanges displayed in Death Wish is all too accurate for our times.

I also like the two police detectives played by Dean Norris and Kimberly Elise. These characters understand the fact that they are action movie clichés, and I kept expecting them to announce that they were about to retire from the force, but the actors are so resplendent in their portrayals that I have to tip my hat.

This remake of Death Wish is not bad as far as B-movie thrillers go, but it lacks the gritty impact of its predecessor. Years from now, the original movie with Charles Bronson is the one that people will be renting.

[StoneOasis]

Originally Posted by Hubunkey

Hoping for an unrated that actually shows the attack on the wife and daughter

Is there actually any proof that they filmed anything of that nature? I just assumed they decided to not be a carbon copy of the original.


Also you want to see someone get raped?

[phobicsquirrel]

Originally Posted by Hubunkey

Hoping for an unrated that actually shows the attack on the wife and daughter

That wasn't in the film? That sort of is an important element.

[rip63]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

an oddly endearing “dude-bro” sensibility to the horror genre

Great review as always, Owl... But this is one of the main reasons I cannot stand his films.

[StoneOasis]

Originally Posted by phobicsquirrel

That wasn't in the film? That sort of is an important element.

The attack is in the film they just don't show any rape and parts of the attack are off screen/hinted at.

[phobicsquirrel]

Originally Posted by StoneOasis

The attack is in the film they just don't show any rape and parts of the attack are off screen/hinted at.

Ah okay.

[TheRadiobox]

I feel like i'm one of the very few who thoroughly enjoyed this movie, i've been anticipating the blu ray release. Day one

[Worship.my.wreck]

Missed this in theatres but I will be picking this up for sure.

[phobicsquirrel]

Saw the online version, not sure if it was unrated, and thought it was okay. I didn't dislike it and it felt like a updated version. The way he was made to seem like a criminal seemed on point even while police have failed. I liked some of the shootouts and willis seemed in his comfort zone. I've been irked by his performance for a while but this wasn't bad. Bronson seemed always a bit out of it in DW and especially the sequels imo.

[Partyslammer]

Decent movie, contains a few bits of gleefully graphic mayhem. Willis seems like he's dosed with a fist full of ambien most of the time, his character has the emotional range of a turnip. I couldn't help but constantly think Kersey was nearly the same "hoody vigilante" character as David Dunn in "Unbreakable." This movie somehow reminded me a bit of "Falling Down" (which is a better flick, imo). Worth a watch but not on the same level as the original Death Wish as far as gritty impact.

[rocknblues81]

Originally Posted by Partyslammer

Decent movie, contains a few bits of gleefully graphic mayhem. Willis seems like he's dosed with a fist full of ambien most of the time, his character has the emotional range of a turnip. I couldn't help but constantly think Kersey was nearly the same "hoody vigilante" character as David Dunn in "Unbreakable." This movie somehow reminded me a bit of "Falling Down" (which is a better flick, imo). Worth a watch but not on the same level as the original Death Wish as far as gritty impact.

Bruce Willis... I don't know what went wrong with him, but he just doesn't care anymore. They need to stop putting him in movies at this point.

[Demented D]

Just watched it. Loved it. Definitely worth the purchase. All the haters can make like dandruff and flake off.

[McCrutchy]

I had this in hand today, but with the 4K disc cancelled here, I couldn't purchase a Blu-ray-only version, and (according to the back cover) without the film's 7.1 mix, to boot. I will purchase one of the import UHD BD versions, unless Fox/MGM deigns to release it late here.

[Monterey Jack]

What a TERRIBLE movie. Willis looks embalmed here.