Death Wish

Paul Kersey (Bruce Willis) works as a trauma doctor in Chicago. After visiting a restaurant and giving his car to be parked, his address is secretly kept by valet. Returning home after working at the hospital, he discovers that his wife has been killed and daughter shot in a bungled home robbery to which he vows revenge.

’…washes away all of the suburban grime before Bruce Willis can get started.'

Upon viewing, Eli Roth’s modern-day remake of Michael Winner’s 1974 ‘Death Wish’ has little or no resemblance to the original film that established Charles Bronson. Whilst the main beats of the story are intact, it has none of the original’s creepiness of a 1970’s New York on the edge. In this remake Roth’s ‘Death Wish’ washes away all of that suburban grime before Bruce Willis can start cleaning up the streets.

In terms of acting, Willis is again resolutely on autopilot for a role, that has to be said, doesn’t require much else. Instead Vincent D’onofrio gets to play a more humane role of late, albeit as a cipher for Willis to explain his vigilante intent to.

In a star vehicle that has clearly already left the lot, this ‘Death Wish’ remake muddies the memory of the previous film, in the same way that Sylvester Stallone’s ‘Get Carter’ remake did for the Michael Caine classic. So, by way of recommendation, it would not be a crime to miss this remake where any modern-day subtext has been cordoned off in a reboot that won’t restart anybody’s career.