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- Sun Oct 06, 2013 9:36 pm
- Forum: Full Reviews
- Topic: Death Wish 2 (1982)
- Replies: 4
- Views: 4428
Re: Death Wish 2 (1982)
I enjoy this movie. Whenever it pops up on one of the old movie channels, I'll always watch it. Charles Bronson was a bit like Liam Neeson nowadays, only a bit more raw.
- Sun Oct 06, 2013 11:01 am
- Forum: Full Reviews
- Topic: Death Wish 2 (1982)
- Replies: 4
- Views: 4428
Death Wish 2 (1982)
Death Wish 2 (1982)-
In the original, architect Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) had his wife murdered and daughter raped in New York before executing the culprits. This time, his housekeeper and daughter are raped and murdered in Los Angeles.
Don't you love those multiracial 80s gangs, with whites and blacks murdering and raping in harmony? Aside from that humorous element, Death Wish 2 presents a bleak, fucked-up view of society, with an inept police force, and criminals who happily prey upon the weak. No one seems to give a fuck, and the well-to-do ignore it while living a life of indolence and pleasure. Until crime hits them.
The disturbing, extended rape of the maid (nevermind the later one of the mute daughter) was rare for a Golan-Globus flick, but works here. It occurs in a gorgeous house found in a posh Los Angeles neighborhood, and the camera occasionally pans outside, showing pedestrians walking their dogs as the raping and screaming takes place. The rape is probably one of the longest seen in a mainstream film, and that's in the edited US release.
The movie is directed and edited very well by veteran Michael Winner (who had worked with Bronson on Chato's Land, The Mechanic, and the original Death Wish) with nary a moment wasted, and Bronson himself is a believable powerhouse. It gets right to the street gang, their crimes, and Bronson ruthlessly hunting them down.
The film features a nice amount of stealth and concealment, showing how Bronson changes his appearance and patrols the area hoping to find his daughter's killers. The pimps, prostitutes, and drug addicts he sees in lurid street-corners are un-glamorous and depict the decay of society. It's a common theme in vigilante flicks of the era, but conveyed well here. And of course, there is plenty of violence, mostly shooting, that punctuates the stalkings.
As noted earlier, Bronson is badass, but also eminently human. He makes mistakes throughout the picture. He gets hurt badly. When several men attack him at once, he is overwhelmed and beaten. Yes, he is a tough, strong fighter in a one-on-one situation, cool under pressure, and a crack shot, but he is also vulnerable. Several times, he avoids capture only through the thankfulness of a random citizen. While I imagine it still glorified vigilantism for some, to me it depicted how insane, dangerous, and uncertain that pursuit is.
Among the notable, interesting elements of the film, a 21 year-old Laurence Fishburne plays one of the raping/murdering hoodlums, while constantly wearing futuristic pink sunglasses, even in the dead of night.
Damn good exploitation flick.
70/100
In the original, architect Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) had his wife murdered and daughter raped in New York before executing the culprits. This time, his housekeeper and daughter are raped and murdered in Los Angeles.
Don't you love those multiracial 80s gangs, with whites and blacks murdering and raping in harmony? Aside from that humorous element, Death Wish 2 presents a bleak, fucked-up view of society, with an inept police force, and criminals who happily prey upon the weak. No one seems to give a fuck, and the well-to-do ignore it while living a life of indolence and pleasure. Until crime hits them.
The disturbing, extended rape of the maid (nevermind the later one of the mute daughter) was rare for a Golan-Globus flick, but works here. It occurs in a gorgeous house found in a posh Los Angeles neighborhood, and the camera occasionally pans outside, showing pedestrians walking their dogs as the raping and screaming takes place. The rape is probably one of the longest seen in a mainstream film, and that's in the edited US release.
The movie is directed and edited very well by veteran Michael Winner (who had worked with Bronson on Chato's Land, The Mechanic, and the original Death Wish) with nary a moment wasted, and Bronson himself is a believable powerhouse. It gets right to the street gang, their crimes, and Bronson ruthlessly hunting them down.
The film features a nice amount of stealth and concealment, showing how Bronson changes his appearance and patrols the area hoping to find his daughter's killers. The pimps, prostitutes, and drug addicts he sees in lurid street-corners are un-glamorous and depict the decay of society. It's a common theme in vigilante flicks of the era, but conveyed well here. And of course, there is plenty of violence, mostly shooting, that punctuates the stalkings.
As noted earlier, Bronson is badass, but also eminently human. He makes mistakes throughout the picture. He gets hurt badly. When several men attack him at once, he is overwhelmed and beaten. Yes, he is a tough, strong fighter in a one-on-one situation, cool under pressure, and a crack shot, but he is also vulnerable. Several times, he avoids capture only through the thankfulness of a random citizen. While I imagine it still glorified vigilantism for some, to me it depicted how insane, dangerous, and uncertain that pursuit is.
Among the notable, interesting elements of the film, a 21 year-old Laurence Fishburne plays one of the raping/murdering hoodlums, while constantly wearing futuristic pink sunglasses, even in the dead of night.
Damn good exploitation flick.
70/100