Death Wish (2018) Review

Whoo!  Another Bruce Willis action movie!  Will this one be as amazing as Die Hard?  No.  No it won't be.

After a botched robbery leaves his wife dead and his daughter in a coma, E.R. surgeon, Dr. Paul Kersey (Bruce Willis), is angry at the world and frustrated that the police are unable to catch the men responsible.  Eventually, Dr. Kersey decides to take matters into his own hands.  He gets himself a gun and takes to the streets, gunning down carjackers, drug dealers, and any other criminals who get in his way, as he searches for leads on people who attacked his wife and daughter.  As Dr. Kersey's reputation grows, his wife's killer and the police both start trying to track him down.  Will Dr. Kersey survive?  And if he does, can he escape prison?

What Works:

I have a confession to make: I haven't seen the original Death Wish.  I've seen parts of the 3rd one, but I have no idea if this remake is faithful or insulting to the original.  So I have no choice but to judge it off its own merits.

I'm so used to Bruce Willis phoning in his performances, that I was shocked that there were at least a few scenes where is actually acting.  He actually cries at one point.  I think I'm probably giving too much credit to him here, but it's just my expectations were so low.  It's good to see him try once in awhile.

I don't have a ton to say here, but Death Wish is a competent movie.  It doesn't make many mistakes.  It doesn't do anything amazing either, but it's a pretty average action movie.  

What Sucks:

Like I said above, I don't have too much to say here.  Death Wish is fine.  I don't have any problems with the structure, writing, directing, acting, etc...It just doesn't do anything to make it stand out.  It's average.

Death Wish did have some very unfortunate timing with the release.  It's been about two weeks since the shooting in Parkland, Florida.  And guns are a massive part of this story.  Death Wish does spend some time exploring the gun control issue.  It addresses both sides and doesn't come down hard on either side of the line.  I found this part of the movie interesting, but the timing is definitely unfortunate and I know it will turn a lot of people off.

Verdict:

Don't believe the anti-hype.  Death Wish is getting way more bad press than it deserves.  It's not original in the slightest, but it's a perfectly competent action movie that is much better than I expected.  I'll give it a very mild recommendation.  If you've got nothing better to do, and you have Movie Pass, go check it out.  It's nothing special, but it's fine.

 6/10: OK