If you've spent any time reading reviews or sifting through film Twitter this week, you've undoubtedly seen the multitude of criticisms towards Eli Roth's remake of Death Wish. Its been popularly touted as the cinematic wet dream of an NRA/alt-right member and many people have attacked MGM's decision to release a film that's centered around an armed civilian murdering people on the streets of Chicago a mere 16 days after the horrific shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida that claimed the lives of 17 people.
Are the optics of a hoodie-clad white dude (Bruce Willis), dubbed "The Grim Reaper" by the media, deciding to dole out vigilante justice following a brutal robbery gone wrong at his home that left his wife dead and teenage daughter in a coma bad? Sure. Does this mean the film is some kind of pro-gun propaganda intended to serve as a 100-minute PSA against the common sense gun law reforms? Absolutely not. Death Wish is a silly revenge movie that couldn't care less about pushing a political agenda or reflecting a society that even somewhat resembles our current reality. Innocent people are never put in harm's way after the initial robbery in the first 15 minutes of the film, an overwhelming majority of the criminals that our vengeance-driven protagonist puts in body bags are also white and law enforcement has an incredibly difficult time identifying an unmasked gunman who doesn't cover his face despite having access to plenty of security camera footage. Plus if you dig underneath the surface of "revenge-seeking white guy murdering criminals" plot, there's actually some subtle shots at how overly lax the gun laws are in most places around the United States. I'm a 25-year old liberal snowflake from Massachusetts that loathes Donald Trump, the NRA and plenty of other people on the right-wing of my country's dumpster fire of a government with every fiber of my being, but categorizing Death Wish as a calculated political statement about the joys of owning/using guns is absolutely fucking silly to me.
Political and social controversies aside, I still felt Death Wish completely whiffed on its tone. For a god damn vigilante movie that features pretty regular use of miscellaneous objects as weapons, it takes itself awfully seriously. Between Willis' consistently cold demeanor, an unusually large narrative emphasis put on the police being overwhelmed by violent crime in the city and semi-frequent cuts to radio hosts debating the "The Grim Reaper's" actions, Death Wish makes the baffling decision to establish itself as a morality play instead of a tongue-in-cheek throwback B-revenge film in the vain of the great grindhouse trailer that surfaced online last month. Roth's flare for clever pitch black humor is one of his strongest attributes as a director and it was really disappointing to see him cast that almost completely aside for a stoic exploitation flick that happens to be led by one of the greatest smartass action stars of all-time.
While some of his creative decisions are to the film's detriment, Roth also happens to be Death Wish's greatest asset. His style of storytelling is brisk without ever feeling rushed and as the godfather of the torture porn movement that dominated the horror scene in the mid-to-late 2000's, his use of gore is every bit as gratuitous and attention-grabbing as you'd expect. After watching the convoluted, relatively blood-free Message from the King last fall, it was nice to watch a film that was directed by someone who at least understood how to execute the basics of the genre.
Death Wish is ultimately a competent affair that unfortunately gets bogged down by its refusal to fully embrace its grimey genre roots. The current R-rated action movie marketplace would be well-served by the release of a deliriously entertaining schlockfest, but this film's grim, humorless nature prevents it from filling this increasingly scarce niche. Better luck next time Eli and Bruce.
Grade: B-
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