Death Wish (2018 film)

Death Wish
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Eli Roth
Produced by	Roger Birnbaum
Screenplay by	Joe Carnahan
Based on	Death Wish (1974 film) by Wendell Mayes Death Wish (novel) by Brian Garfield
Starring	Bruce Willis Vincent D'Onofrio Elisabeth Shue Dean Norris Kimberly Elise
Music by	Ludwig Göransson
Cinematography	Rogier Stoffers
Edited by	Mark Goldblatt
Production companies	Scott Free Productions MGM Studios
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (United States) Vertigo Films (United Kingdom) Annapurna Pictures (International)
Release dates	March 2, 2018 (2018-03-02)
Running time	107 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$30 million
Box office	$13 million

Death Wish is a 2018 American vigilante action film directed by Eli Roth and written by Joe Carnahan. It is the sixth installment of the Death Wish series and a remake of the 1974 film of the same name starring Charles Bronson, based on Brian Garfield's 1972 novel. The film stars Bruce Willis as Paul Kersey, a Chicago doctor who sets out to get revenge on the men who attacked his family. Vincent D'Onofrio, Elisabeth Shue, Dean Norris, and Kimberly Elise also star.

The film was released in the United States by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and in international markets by Annapurna Pictures on March 2, 2018. It received generally negative reviews, with criticism aimed at it for not adding anything new to previous installments, as well the unfortunate timing of its release just 16 days after the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

Plot

Doctor Paul Kersey (Bruce Willis) works as an emergency surgeon at a Chicago hospital and in that capacity sees all too well the savage violence that permeates the city. He and his wife Lucy (Elisabeth Shue) are celebrating their daughter Jordan's (Camila Morrone) acceptance into a prestigious university. Paul's brother Frank (Vincent D'Onofrio) asked him lend some money to pay his debt to his landlord Miguel. After Frank pays, Miguel takes pictures of Paul's car with the address on it. While Paul is at work, three thugs, Knox (Beau Knapp), Joe (Ronnie Gene Blevins) and Fish (Jack Kesy), break into the Kersey's home. Joe tries to rape Jordan, and when she and Lucy resist, he and others kill Lucy and beat Jordan into a coma. Police detectives Kevin Raines (Dean Norris) and Leonore Jackson (Kimberly Elise) are put on the case.

Outraged that the police are unable to solve the crime, Kersey becomes a vigilante stalking the city streets to deliver his own brand of justice as a hooded avenger and find the men who destroyed his life. Miguel is brought in to the hospital to treat his wounds. When Paul sees his watch on Miguel's wrist, he tells one of the doctors to grab a defibrillator and pumps Miguel's heart three times, killing him. He takes Miguel's phone and unlocks it with Miguel's thumb, finding a picture of his address on and going through Miguel's contacts to find out that the stolen items are being sold at a pawn shop. Paul talks to the owner Ponytail (Ian Matthews), and tells him that Miguel sent him, causing Ponytail to get suspicious, as he sends a text to Fish, telling him to get there right away.

Ponytail reaches for his gun, but Paul stabs him with a dart and points a gun to his head, telling him to get the stuff that was stolen from his house. Ponytail tells him he doesn't do any robberies and he just fences the stolen goods. Before Paul can ask Ponytail anything else, Fish arrives and shoots Ponytail in the back of the head, killing him. Paul is able to shoot Fish and he runs, slipping on Ponytail's pool of blood. Fish and Paul fight, Paul steps on Fish's flesh wound, asking him who else was there. Fish tries to weasel his way out by telling Paul that it was Joe who shot Lucy, and he can be found at the auto body shop. He then kicks Paul in the groin and gains the upper hand, but is killed by a falling bowling ball.

Paul goes to the auto body shop where Joe is working under a car, knocking Joe out by whacking him in the groin with a wrench. Joe wakes up to find himself strapped to a car and Paul grabs a scalpel, cutting his leg at sciatic nerve is and pouring brake fluid into the open wound, explaining that it's the best thing for a person not to go into cardiac arrest as Joe confesses who did it. Joe says it was Knox that shot Lucy and Jordan, but killed Lucy, he tells Paul that he only works on a per-job basis, and that the only way to meet Knox is if he contacts you himself. Having gotten the information he wanted, Paul removes the jack from beneath the car and causes it to fall and crush Joe's head, killing him instantly.

Later, Frank finds Paul's gun collection and confronts Paul on the matter, telling him he shouldn't be taking justice into his own hands, because he doesn't want Paul getting hurt. Paul responds that someone has to do it, and tears up about his family. Paul gets a phone call from the hospital, with a doctor telling him that Jordan has regained consciousness. Paul gets to the hospital and is forced to tell Jordan what happened to Lucy. Paul stays with Jordan to make sure she's okay, however, his phone suddenly starts ringing and he sees a unknown number calling him. Paul rejects the call, but he gets a text from a number, warning to answer the next call or he will inform the police about his actions. The caller reveals himself as Knox, and tells him to meet him at a nightclub so he can find out who Paul is.

Paul goes to the nightclub, where he texts Knox and is told to go to the bathroom. Paul goes to the bathroom and unloads a clip into the bathroom stall, but finds out no one's there. Paul reloads his gun and sees Knox face to face. They get into a shootout, but Knox gets away.

While Paul and Jordan are at home, Knox and two other thugs prepare to break in. Paul hides Jordan in a closet and shoots two of the thugs, killing them. Knox shoots Paul in the shoulder, wounding him. Before Knox can kill him, Jordan yells out her father's name. Knox taunts Paul about a house burning down, before Knox can harm Jordan, Paul opens a compartment under a table, and unloads a clip into Knox, killing him and avenging Lucy's death. Raines suspects that Paul was the vigilante everyone is looking for, but decides to cover up that Knox attacked the house, thinking that Jordan might identify him.

Later on, Paul drops Jordan off at the university. As he is leaving, Paul spots a man who committed a robbery and vows to continue his vigilantism, pointing at him with a finger gun.

Cast

• Bruce Willis as Dr. Paul Kersey, Jordan’s father, Lucy Rose’s husband, Frank’s brother and a close friend of Dr. Chris Salgado, a Chicago-based doctor turned vigilante
• Vincent D'Onofrio as Frank Kersey, Paul Kersey’s younger brother
• Dean Norris as Detective Kevin Raines, the main detective in charge of Lucy's murder investigation and Detective Jackson’s partner
• Kimberly Elise as Detective Leonore Jackson, partner to Detective Kevin Raines and one of the detectives leading the investigation of Lucy's murder investigation.
• Mike Epps as Dr. Chris Salgado, a playboy doctor and close friend of Paul Kersey
• Elisabeth Shue as Lucy Rose Kersey, the wife of Paul Kersey and Jordan’s mother
• Camila Morrone as Jordan Kersey, the daughter of Paul and Lucy Rose
• Ronnie Gene Blevins as Joe, a mechanic and Knox's partner-in-crme
• Beau Knapp as Knox, the main villain of the film, in charge of Joe and Fish
• Troy Kivisto as a FBI Agent
• Jack Kesy as Tate "Fish" Karp
• Wendy Crewson as Dr. Jill Klavens
• Kirby Bliss Blanton as Bethany
• Len Cariou as Ben

Production

Development

Development of the film began in 2006, when Sylvester Stallone announced that he would be directing and starring in a remake of Death Wish (1974). Stallone told Ain't It Cool News, "Instead of the Charles Bronson character being an architect, my version would have him as a very good cop who had incredible success without ever using his gun. So when the attack on his family happens, he's really thrown into a moral dilemma in proceeding to carry out his revenge." He later told the publication that he was no longer involved. In a 2009 interview with MTV, though, Stallone stated that he was again considering the project.

In late January 2012, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that a remake would be written and directed by Joe Carnahan. The film was originally set to star Liam Neeson and Frank Grillo. Carnahan, however, left the project in February 2013 due to creative differences, but received sole writing credit for the completed film. He was replaced as director with Gerardo Naranjo, who was interested in casting Benicio Del Toro in the lead role; this version also never came to fruition.

In March 2016, Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer announced that Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado would direct with Bruce Willis starring. Willis was chosen from a shortlist which included Russell Crowe, Matt Damon, Will Smith, and Brad Pitt. In May, Keshales and Papushado quit the project after MGM declined to allow them to rewrite Joe Carnahan's original script, which had been approved by Willis. In June, Eli Roth signed on to direct, with the script being rewritten by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. On August 25, 2016, Vincent D'Onofrio was cast alongside Bruce Willis to play Paul Kersey's brother, Breaking Bad actor Dean Norris also joined Willis in the film. On October 7, 2016, Kimberly Elise and Camila Morrone were cast in the film to play Detective Jackson and Jordan Kersey. Later on October 17, 2016, Ronnie Gene Blevins was cast in the film.

Filming

Principal photography on the film began in late-September 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. Later in October 2016, it began filming in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Release

In June 2017, it was announced Annapurna Pictures would distribute the film on behalf of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and release it on November 22, 2017. However October 2017 it was announced it was being delayed until March 2, 2018 and that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer would handle the film's distribution in the United States, while Annapurna Pictures handle its international distribution. It was speculated the delay was due in-part to the mass shooting in Las Vegas several days prior.

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, Death Wish was released alongside Red Sparrow, and was projected to gross $10–20 million from 2,847 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $4.2 million on its first day (including $650,000 from Thursday night previews) and $13 million in its opening weekend, finishing third behind Black Panther ($66.7 million in its third week) and Red Sparrow ($17 million).

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 13% based on 76 reviews, and an average rating of 3.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Death Wish is little more than a rote retelling that lacks the grit and conviction of the original — and also suffers from spectacularly bad timing." On Metacritic, which assigns normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 31 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

The Chicago Sun-Times's Richard Roeper gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, writing, "Even with the social commentary, Death Wish isn’t trying to be some intense, gritty, ripped-from-the-headlines docudrama... A number of gruesome scenes are staged like something out of one of those Final Destination movies, with a bowling ball, a dart, a wrench and other conveniently handy items used as weapons of singular destruction. It’s essentially revenge porn." Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 1 out of 4 stars and said, "For a while, director Roth plays this stuff relatively straight, and Willis periodically reminds us he can act (the grieving Kersey cries a fair bit here). The script contains a reference to AR-15 rifles; by the end, Willis goes full Willis when his adversaries return to the sanctity of the family home."

Many critics noted the timing of the film's release, coming less than three weeks after the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times called the film "imbecilic", and criticized the film for its jokey tone and "morally unconflicted" approach to its subject matter. Similarly, The Guardian's Amy Nicholson criticized the film for "[flatlining] the politics and [saturating] the pathos", and for insulting both sides of the gun control argument. The Hollywood Reporter's John DeFore noted that the film does not attempt to "use genre metaphors to address real national debates", making the original film "look philosophical by comparison", and he also noted the improbable and contrived nature of Kersey's mission. Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Justin Chang called the film "a slick, straightforward revenge thriller as well as a sham provocation, pandering shamelessly to the viewer's bloodlust while trying to pass as self-aware satire". Chang compared the film unfavorably to the 2007 Death Sentence, citing the lack of consequences that Kersey faces.

Some reviewers stood in defense of the film. Peter Howell of the Toronto Star stated that "Roth and Carnahan do an OK job updating Death Wish", and that the film accurately depicts the "casual way that Americans acquire and use guns". He felt, though, that Liam Neeson would have been a better choice for the lead role. Matthew Rozsa of Salon agreed that the film's release was indeed timed poorly, but argued that "mass shootings have been ubiquitous for so long that I doubt there ever would have been an appropriate release date for a vigilante fantasy. ... It exists everywhere in our culture, from movies and video games to the right-wing talking points that regularly thwart gun control legislation." Rosza considers Death Wish his guilty pleasure, recommending it as a "success" as well as "a competent popcorn muncher that moves at a brisk pace, is about as engaging as your average Law and Order episode and contains an appropriately glowering (if somewhat bored looking) Bruce Willis."

See also

• Death Wish film series

External links

• Official website
• Death Wish at IMDb