Plot: What’s it about?
While revisiting some of my archived reviews, I stumbled upon a review of Death Wish 2 that spoke of the 10-year anniversary of star, Charles Bronsion. Now, it’s been more than 20 years since the star’s passing, but he certainly had a screen presence. I have a certain respect for films of this caliber. This film is a no frills straight up action flick drowning in 80s cheese. They just don’t make films like this anymore, for some, that may not be a bad thing. It’s still hard not to appreciate a film like this. It never pretends to be anything more than what it is. It’s a guilty pleasure to the fullest extent. This film pretty much picks up where the first film left off. We see Paul Kirsy (Bronson) now dating again and relocated following the events from the first film. Kirsy now lives in L.A. and we see him having a day of fun with his girlfriend Geri Nichols (Jill Ireland) and his daughter Carol (Robin Sherwood). Kirsy has high hopes that his daughter can leave living in a psychiatric ward and return home. She does and they spend a day out enjoying a carnival and getting ice cream. During an encounter with a gang member, Kirsy manages to lose his wallet. The gang members now know where he lives. They come to his house one day and rape and murder his maid. They also discover his daughter there and kidnap her (for fear that she can I.D. them to the police). They attempt to rape her, but she escapes and ultimately jumps to her death. It’s here that the revenge plot is intact and Kirsy plans his revenge.
Michael Winner directed the original film and he returns here. He keeps the action moving and the film can be entertaining, despite its dark subject matter. Bronson doesn’t have as strong a screen presence as Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry films, but he holds his own. The film also isn’t as witty as the Dirty Harry films. That is fine, the film still delivers the goods on action. The film is wise to never make us try to sympathize with the criminals. These are nasty, low-life individuals and the film wants us to know that. They dress in torn up, cutoff shirts. They smoke, drink, curse. They seem to go after anyone and anything, they view the world as their feeding ground. Keep an eye out for a young Lawrence Fishburne as one of the gang members. The film builds towards a climax in a hospital where Kirsy (disguised as a doctor) plans on extracting his revenge on the last suspect.
The film had a big battle with the MPAA over several scenes. The rape scene, had to be trimmed down to secure and R rating. The film is still quite shocking and isn’t for the faint of heart. One of my favorite exchanges is when Kirsy meets one of the hoods and says, “Do you believe in Jesus?” the hood replies “yes” Kirsy then says, “well you’re about to meet him”. The film could have used more lines like this as it would’ve added some much-needed humor. Still, the film works in a sort of guilty pleasure sort of way. Do note that this version includes the unrated cut as well as the theatrical cut. The former adds some to the already graphic rape sequence, among others.
Video: How’s it look?
Audio: How’s it sound?
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Audio Commentary – We get two separate tracks here. One features Film Historian Paul Talbot and the other includes film historians Steve Mitchell and Nathanial Thomspon. Since this is a rather short film, both tracks are easily digestible and include some great notes. We hear plenty about Charles Bronson as well as the unrated cut and several other antidotes. Fans will be pleased with their inclusion on this disc.
- Unrated Cut – Whether you consider this an extra or not is up to you, but I do and it’s great to have the choice. I opted for the unrated cut which includes a couple extra minutes of footage and more graphic content.
- Theatrical Trailers
