Ten Stars or Less

Bruce Willis is a busy guy. You may not know this because he hasn’t had a blockbuster released to theatres in forever, but if you just browse Netflix, he’s got quite the selection. Sadly they are mainly the same kind of role that made him a household name in Die Hard, so the biggest question I have now is why Bruce why? Why did you select Death Wish? Why did this movie get a major release push? Why try to live in the shoes of Paul Kersey, who was made famous by the late great Charles Bronson. This movie could have been a Netflix original special and I could have lived with it. Instead you throw it to the wolves and wonder why it has bombed. Death Wish in 2018 is not a new story. Although it got released at a terrible time for Americans who love or hate their guns, I feel the only thing this movie accomplished today was shining a bright light on gun violence across the country and especially Chicago. Advances in technology and social media make it almost impossible to be a secret vigilante killer. In 1974 this story and it’s hero character worked because newspapers were the only source of real news. Eli Roth took a story and altered it on many levels, some changes I agree with and some I don’t. The original lacked the gore that audiences have to come expect over the years, so it didn’t surprise me to see blood everywhere but on the actual camera lens. The entire Death Wish series occupies a special place in my heart because my grandmother loved these movies. I grew up watching Bronson roam the streets looking for bad guys, so I was okay and not okay with this “reboot/remake”. I applaud everyone’s efforts in giving an iconic movie new life, to showcase the modern problems that plague society today. Some will say this is what we need, while others will continue to say this movie accomplished absolutely nothing. 5/10