Alternate Title: Death Wish II
Director: Michael Winner
Starring: Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Vincent Gardenia, Laurence Fishburne
Country: U.S.
Note: As of Oct. 2013, the review format changed. Some reviews like this one have the old format.
Country: U.S.
Note: As of Oct. 2013, the review format changed. Some reviews like this one have the old format.
Short and Sweet:
Death Wish 2, for the lack of a better description, is essentially Death Wish all over again but with more rape and more action.
Death Wish 2, for the lack of a better description, is essentially Death Wish all over again but with more rape and more action.
Screening Source:
I viewed the Region 1 MGM DVD copy of the film. I know their is a high definition Blu Ray but it is overpriced for having no bonus features and an alright transfer. Besides, I settled for $1 on this baby at the flea market. Before I say anything, if you find Death Wish 2 for $1 on DVD, drop that money and pick that sucker up. And if all of the other Death Wish's are there as well, get em!
I also want to note that this is the slightly edited version of the film. The only things that are edited in this version of the film are the two rape scenes early on in the film. I normally don't support editing out footage in a film for censorship reasons. However, seeing less of these two graphic rape scenes is fine by me. They are horrific and the less seen the better. What is there is already graphic enough. However, these edits hardly make the film count as an Unrated Cut in my opinion. You could argue against this, but I feel it still achieves the goal the Theatrical Cut was going for.
I viewed the Region 1 MGM DVD copy of the film. I know their is a high definition Blu Ray but it is overpriced for having no bonus features and an alright transfer. Besides, I settled for $1 on this baby at the flea market. Before I say anything, if you find Death Wish 2 for $1 on DVD, drop that money and pick that sucker up. And if all of the other Death Wish's are there as well, get em!
I also want to note that this is the slightly edited version of the film. The only things that are edited in this version of the film are the two rape scenes early on in the film. I normally don't support editing out footage in a film for censorship reasons. However, seeing less of these two graphic rape scenes is fine by me. They are horrific and the less seen the better. What is there is already graphic enough. However, these edits hardly make the film count as an Unrated Cut in my opinion. You could argue against this, but I feel it still achieves the goal the Theatrical Cut was going for.
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| I smiled when I saw this title card. No lie, I was pumped. |
Plot:
Paul Kersey (Bronson), has been living a peaceful life since his vigilante rampage in 1974's Death Wish. At the police's request, Bronson moved from New York to somewhere else. Kersey chose Los Angeles and continues his architecture work there. He has a new girlfriend, Geri (Ireland), and has been taking care of his mentally scarred daughter, Carol. However, some thugs decide to break into his house and almost the same thing as the first film occurs. Kersey's loved ones are raped and murdered. Instead of choosing to go after crime in general (like he did the first film), Kersey carefully plans his revenge on the men who raped and murdered his daughter. What follows is more sleazy nudity and graphic action than the first film even had. Summarizing this film is as simple as looking at one of the film's poster's taglines: Bronson's loose! It's as dumb and simple as they come.
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| Deja vu. |
Notable Performances:
Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey - Bronson is just one bad motha. You do not mess with this guy. But he's also pretty cheesy. I love Charles Bronson. I think he is just a totally awesome action star and has a great screen prescence. However, I feel that he plays almost every role of his almost the same. He's quiet, somber, polite, and ruthless. This time around, Paul Kersey starts to turn into more of an action hero than just an everyday vigilante killer from the first film. I'll go more into this under The Rundown section of this review. Overall though, Bronson does just fine as Kersey once again. Regardless of how good or bad these Death Wish films are, Kersey just feels like an old friend. It's nice to just check up on him.
Jill Ireland as Geri Nichols - Bronson's love interest this time around is his own real life wife, Jill Ireland. She plays Geri, a very nice and kind lady. She's also extremely lucky to survive the film with not a scratch on her body. All of the people that Kersey cares for seem to die a horrible fate, as we have seen so far from Death Wish 1 and 2. So, to see her survive this film is just a blessing. I don't want to spoil too much as to what occurs between Geri and Kersey by the film's end, but I'll let you know that it is actually a depressing ending. It makes one contemplate the consequences that go hand in hand with being a vigilante.
Vincent Gardenia as Frank Ocha - This was a nice surprise to see Frank Ocha, the cop from the first film, back again. It's always cool when a franchise finds a way to bring back actors from previous installments. He gives the same performance as before. He's kind of a smart but bumbling cop who is constantly sick and sneezing (I really don't get it, but I feel bad for the guy). Kudos to Death Wish 2 for trying to connect things back to Death Wish with more than just Charles Bronson returning.
Laurence Fishburne and more as "The Villains" - All of the punks and thugs in Death Wish 1 are some pretty vile people, including the ones who do the terrible deed to Bronson's wife and daughter. But man, these guys are terrible! With names like Cutter, Jiver, and Punkcut, these guys are out for blood! Evil punks and thugs from the 70's and 80's are just absolutely crazy. I despise them but can't get enough of them, they are so entertaining to watch. It's no surprise that all of these guys meet their end by Bronson's gun too. Laurence Fishburne has the best death of them all. He holds a boom box over his face as cover as Bronson fires at him. The boom box explodes and Fishburne falls over as goo pours out of his mouth. It's so gross but totally awesome. Why would you choose a radio as cover from a bullet?
Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey - Bronson is just one bad motha. You do not mess with this guy. But he's also pretty cheesy. I love Charles Bronson. I think he is just a totally awesome action star and has a great screen prescence. However, I feel that he plays almost every role of his almost the same. He's quiet, somber, polite, and ruthless. This time around, Paul Kersey starts to turn into more of an action hero than just an everyday vigilante killer from the first film. I'll go more into this under The Rundown section of this review. Overall though, Bronson does just fine as Kersey once again. Regardless of how good or bad these Death Wish films are, Kersey just feels like an old friend. It's nice to just check up on him.
Jill Ireland as Geri Nichols - Bronson's love interest this time around is his own real life wife, Jill Ireland. She plays Geri, a very nice and kind lady. She's also extremely lucky to survive the film with not a scratch on her body. All of the people that Kersey cares for seem to die a horrible fate, as we have seen so far from Death Wish 1 and 2. So, to see her survive this film is just a blessing. I don't want to spoil too much as to what occurs between Geri and Kersey by the film's end, but I'll let you know that it is actually a depressing ending. It makes one contemplate the consequences that go hand in hand with being a vigilante.
Vincent Gardenia as Frank Ocha - This was a nice surprise to see Frank Ocha, the cop from the first film, back again. It's always cool when a franchise finds a way to bring back actors from previous installments. He gives the same performance as before. He's kind of a smart but bumbling cop who is constantly sick and sneezing (I really don't get it, but I feel bad for the guy). Kudos to Death Wish 2 for trying to connect things back to Death Wish with more than just Charles Bronson returning.
Laurence Fishburne and more as "The Villains" - All of the punks and thugs in Death Wish 1 are some pretty vile people, including the ones who do the terrible deed to Bronson's wife and daughter. But man, these guys are terrible! With names like Cutter, Jiver, and Punkcut, these guys are out for blood! Evil punks and thugs from the 70's and 80's are just absolutely crazy. I despise them but can't get enough of them, they are so entertaining to watch. It's no surprise that all of these guys meet their end by Bronson's gun too. Laurence Fishburne has the best death of them all. He holds a boom box over his face as cover as Bronson fires at him. The boom box explodes and Fishburne falls over as goo pours out of his mouth. It's so gross but totally awesome. Why would you choose a radio as cover from a bullet?
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| Someone's got a...DEATH WISH! |
The Rundown:
Death Wish 2 brings back Charles Bronson, Vincent Gardenia, and director Michael Winner. I mention this because getting both a franchise's star and its original director back is always a good sign. Even the Dirty Harry series lost its original director after its first film. So, Death Wish 2 already has good potential. Besides the elements behind the camera, Death Wish 2 essentially recreates the same elements from the first film all over again. Here they are.
- Everything starts off all peachy nice and perfect.
- Bronson's loved one is either raped or murdered.
- Bronson hunts down criminals during the late hours of the night.
- Bronson lies to others that he is doing nothing illegal.
- The police realize a vigilante is on their hands and they must deal with him.
- The police follow and track down Bronson in taxis and cars.
- At one point, Bronson is stabbed and realizes he is in over his head.
If there was ever a sequel that tried to duplicate the first film's success, Death Wish 2 is that sequel. You may think I dislike this film for this, but I really don't. If you can get over the fact that it is Death Wish all over again, this film is quite enjoyable. Bronson is turned into more of an action hero in this film, finding himself in bigger and crazier shootouts. He is also no longer a timid man. He knows who wronged him and makes sure to go after them with all of his force. I also liked how Bronson creates an outfit from Good Will as his night time get up. It's so awesome.
The film also has a more self aware soundtrack. It's composed by Led Zepplin's Jimmy Page. This time around we get some sweet guitar riffs to go along with Kersey's rampages. All of the gritty stripped down realism of the first film goes away once you hear Jimmy Page shredding away on an electronic guitar. The film also has some nice action editing and photography as well. None of it is incredible, but its nice, simple, and gets the job done.
My biggest issue with this film though has to lie with its vile rape scenes. Bronson's maid is raped and murdered in a horribly graphic scene that is utterly repulsive. I could never watch that scene ever again if I had too. The film amps up both its gore and blatant nudity as well. Death Wish 2 really feels like it is treading over into exploitation territory at some points. However, I think Michael Winner keep things restrained just enough to keep it from being a sleazy grind house film.
Action:
Parking Garage Shootout - Bronson follows a woman's screams to a terrible rape scene occurring. Unfortunately for the rapists, Bronson brought his gun with him and lets them have it real good. This is a short but sweet gun fight. Michael Winner really amps up the action in this film.
Park Shootout - Bronson stalks some of his daughter's killers to a dark park. Before you know it, bullets are flying and we have arrived to the film's biggest action scene. This is a totally awesome shootout, complete with epic kills and tons of gunfire. It ends on a great note as well.
Final Confrontation - Bronson confronts the final thug in this particularly brutal fist fight. What seems like a simple shoot and run for Bronson turns into a full blown fight complete with punching, kicking, glass breaking, tables turning, knife stabbing, and even electrocuting!
Best Bits:
Favorite Kill:
Bronson blasts a thug right through a ghetto blaster and into his face!
Favorite Line/Exchange:
Bronson - "Do you believe in Jesus boy?"
Thug - "Yes."
Bronson - "Well, you're gonna meet him." BANG!
Favorite Action Scene:
The shootout in the dark park is great. It features a lot of shooting with a variety of weapons. Its both intense, hilarious, and awesome.
Favorite Supporting Character:
I'm gonna give this to Officer Frank Ocha. The guy came all the way from the first Death Wish. I love that guy.
Conclusion:
Death Wish 2 is an interesting sequel. Death Wish is a gritty drama filled with moments of intense violence. It has just enough action in it though for it to be considered a through and through action film. It remains a vigilante drama first and fore most by being realistic and ground breaking in its discussion of vigilantism. Death Wish 2 takes all of the elements from the first film and turns them into more of an amped up 80's action film. The action is bigger, the music is more current and hip, and Bronson is now a full blown action hero. While sleazier and nearly an exact duplicate of the first film, Death Wish 2 is a pretty good action sequel that is heavily underrated. It is fully recommended to all action and Bronson junkies. There's plenty to love here.
Death Wish 2 brings back Charles Bronson, Vincent Gardenia, and director Michael Winner. I mention this because getting both a franchise's star and its original director back is always a good sign. Even the Dirty Harry series lost its original director after its first film. So, Death Wish 2 already has good potential. Besides the elements behind the camera, Death Wish 2 essentially recreates the same elements from the first film all over again. Here they are.
- Everything starts off all peachy nice and perfect.
- Bronson's loved one is either raped or murdered.
- Bronson hunts down criminals during the late hours of the night.
- Bronson lies to others that he is doing nothing illegal.
- The police realize a vigilante is on their hands and they must deal with him.
- The police follow and track down Bronson in taxis and cars.
- At one point, Bronson is stabbed and realizes he is in over his head.
If there was ever a sequel that tried to duplicate the first film's success, Death Wish 2 is that sequel. You may think I dislike this film for this, but I really don't. If you can get over the fact that it is Death Wish all over again, this film is quite enjoyable. Bronson is turned into more of an action hero in this film, finding himself in bigger and crazier shootouts. He is also no longer a timid man. He knows who wronged him and makes sure to go after them with all of his force. I also liked how Bronson creates an outfit from Good Will as his night time get up. It's so awesome.
The film also has a more self aware soundtrack. It's composed by Led Zepplin's Jimmy Page. This time around we get some sweet guitar riffs to go along with Kersey's rampages. All of the gritty stripped down realism of the first film goes away once you hear Jimmy Page shredding away on an electronic guitar. The film also has some nice action editing and photography as well. None of it is incredible, but its nice, simple, and gets the job done.
My biggest issue with this film though has to lie with its vile rape scenes. Bronson's maid is raped and murdered in a horribly graphic scene that is utterly repulsive. I could never watch that scene ever again if I had too. The film amps up both its gore and blatant nudity as well. Death Wish 2 really feels like it is treading over into exploitation territory at some points. However, I think Michael Winner keep things restrained just enough to keep it from being a sleazy grind house film.
 |
| "Do you want the red pill or the blue pill?" |
Action:
Parking Garage Shootout - Bronson follows a woman's screams to a terrible rape scene occurring. Unfortunately for the rapists, Bronson brought his gun with him and lets them have it real good. This is a short but sweet gun fight. Michael Winner really amps up the action in this film.
Park Shootout - Bronson stalks some of his daughter's killers to a dark park. Before you know it, bullets are flying and we have arrived to the film's biggest action scene. This is a totally awesome shootout, complete with epic kills and tons of gunfire. It ends on a great note as well.
Final Confrontation - Bronson confronts the final thug in this particularly brutal fist fight. What seems like a simple shoot and run for Bronson turns into a full blown fight complete with punching, kicking, glass breaking, tables turning, knife stabbing, and even electrocuting!
 |
| Bronson rocks his Good Will outfit like nobody else. |
Best Bits:
Favorite Kill:
Bronson blasts a thug right through a ghetto blaster and into his face!
Favorite Line/Exchange:
Bronson - "Do you believe in Jesus boy?"
Thug - "Yes."
Bronson - "Well, you're gonna meet him." BANG!
Favorite Action Scene:
The shootout in the dark park is great. It features a lot of shooting with a variety of weapons. Its both intense, hilarious, and awesome.
Favorite Supporting Character:
I'm gonna give this to Officer Frank Ocha. The guy came all the way from the first Death Wish. I love that guy.
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| The happiness can only last so long in a Death Wish film. |
Conclusion:
Death Wish 2 is an interesting sequel. Death Wish is a gritty drama filled with moments of intense violence. It has just enough action in it though for it to be considered a through and through action film. It remains a vigilante drama first and fore most by being realistic and ground breaking in its discussion of vigilantism. Death Wish 2 takes all of the elements from the first film and turns them into more of an amped up 80's action film. The action is bigger, the music is more current and hip, and Bronson is now a full blown action hero. While sleazier and nearly an exact duplicate of the first film, Death Wish 2 is a pretty good action sequel that is heavily underrated. It is fully recommended to all action and Bronson junkies. There's plenty to love here.
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