Death Wish V: The Face of Death (1994) - Review

Series: Death Wish (5/5)
Alternate Title: Death Wish: The Face of Death
Director: Allan A. Goldstein
Starring: Charles Bronson, Michael Parks, Lesley Anne Down, Robert Joy, Saul Rubinek
Country: U.S.

The end of the Death-Wish-a-thon has arrived. Paul Kersey has been through quite a lot in his life. I gotta say, after losing three girlfriends, a wife, his daughter, and numerous friends of his, you would think that Kersey would be an emotional mess. Right? Nah, Kersey is as chipper as ever. He's got his A-game too, because he is once again with another woman who also has a daughter of her own!

I guess we're back to roman numerals.

The final Death Wish film is the worst of the five. A major factor in this is Bronson's age. I know that late 60's/early 70's year old actors like Chuck Norris (Expendables 2) and Danny Trejo (Machete) can still kick major butt and perform physically impressive action scenes in their films. But Charles Bronson seemed to be a victim of his age, the most out of any of these kind of guys. His acting and performance during the action scenes (all two of them, quite the downgrade from the insane amount of action in parts three and four) are very weak and it makes me sad to say so. I love the guy to death, that's why I stuck around to watch all the way up to Death Wish V for goodness sakes. But the final film is just not that good in any way, shape, or form. Let's dig into this silly swan song to see what went wrong and what went right.

Paul Kersey is back to New York for the third time! Last time he was here he ran around the city with a Wildey Magnum and blasted the most thugs to death out of any of the films. And when we first see him here he's...at a fashion show. I'm sorry, but Paul effin' Kersey and a fashion show (a horribly lame '90's fashion show at that) don't go together.

These outfits suck so bad. 

His girlfriend, Olivia (Lesley Anne Down), is in the fashion world. However, her evil ex-husband, Tommy O'Shea (Michael Parks), comes to the show and things get interesting. He's a crime lord and he does shady dealings with the men who work down in the factory of her fashion show. It's a shame that Michael Parks is in the worst Death Wish film, because he could have been used so much better in another one of the films. Parks hams it up pretty big in some of these scenes, ranging from chilling and terrifying to histarical and over the top. He's one of the most memorable things about the film though.

The film's events start when Olivia and Paul state their displeasure of Tommy to his face at the fashion show. This hurts Tommy's pride and pisses him off pretty good. Therefore, he hires a hitman, (Robert Joy), to dress up as a woman and smash Olivia's face into a mirror repeatedly! And it happens on the night that Kersey was going to propose to her. Bad timing Kersey, tough break. Paul than communicates with the police about how he and Olivia would like to testify against Tommy. However, Tommy has dirty cops of his own listening in on this, and decides to strike against Kersey and Olivia again! Olivia does not survive the second time and Kersey goes back to doing what he does best.

"Guns don't make me nervous. Idiots with guns do."

Death Wish is an action series. I know that we need our drama first and foremost to set up the characters and action though. But, Death Wish V must have forgotten that it was an action franchise and not a drama series because there are a measly two action scenes. Not only that, but Bronson only shoots in one of them, and for a few seconds! The two scenes that are there aren't half bad. This film is the only one of the Death Wish films to use extensive amounts of slow motion editing during the action scenes. Slow motion is one of my favorite tools in an action film (or any film for that matter). Therefore, I really enjoyed the way that it was employed in the film. It helped to make these measly gun fights seem that much bigger and better. 

The best use of slow motion occurs during a scene in which a man trying to testify against Tommy gets whacked in the worst way. I mean seriously, look at this! It's awesome.

Unfortunately, there is just too much wrong with this film. If you thought that Cannon Productions were producing low budget actioners with Death Wish 2-4, than just look at this film. Everything screams low budget. The photography is weak, the score is lame, and the sets are so bland. It's a shame, because I really want to like this film badly. The one set that I do enjoy though is the factory setting. It pops up in the film many many times and houses the film's epic final shootout. This film might as well have been called Death Wish V: The Factory of Death.

Babyface Bronson aims down the sight of his trusty gun.

I do enjoy seeing Bronson on a mission as always. It's just that they didn't quite know how to make his mission interesting all of the time. For example, Bronson poisons a thug's cannoli in a restaurant and than smashes his face into his plate. This is a great example of Bronson being entertaining and awesome. The scene has great build up, suspense, and is quite memorable. Later on in the film though, he buys a rolling soccer ball and puts a bomb in it (I know, brilliant right?). He lures a thug out of his house and causes the guy to run around his house chasing the ball for what seems like forever. This scene drags on for so long and is so ridiculous in comparison to the great scene before it. The film is all over the place when it comes to the quality of its scenes.

A few other random things that I noticed from this film are worth noting. The film is back to titling itself with both a roman numeral and a subtitle. "The Face of Death" is a cool subtitle but makes no sense whatsoever. At least "The Crackdown" described what happened in that film, Bronson was cracking down on drugs and "crack" in general. Another thing that is weird is that the DVD removes the roman numeral of V even though posters and theatrical cuts specifically show the V. I don't know if they were ashamed of it being the fifth film but I'll never understand that. It's also interesting to note that both this film and the final Dirty Harry film, The Dead Pool, are the weakest of their franchises. Both their fourth films however, Death Wish 4: The Crackdown and Sudden Impact, are pretty good fourth entries and should've been each series' respective finales.

"Call me if you ever need me again." "Yeah, no thank you."

I don't have too much to say about this film, but I do still enjoy it even for all of its weak characters, bland story, and measly action. Only an action junkie can say that though. The film is such a cash grab it's a real shame. It's sad this film couldn't have been a swan song along the lines of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven and Gran Torino. Those are the kinds of films that Death Wish V should have been like if it wanted to be taken seriously. Instead, it opts out for a blend of comic book silliness and dreadful seriousness that doesn't work that well.

Rating: 5/10 - The final Death Wish serves up few thrills and weak drama in a finale that could have been far better. 

The Extras:

Best Kill: The hit and run, plain and simple. Seeing a guy fly through a glass window from 5 different angles in slow motion is just awesome.

Best Action Scene: I'd definitely give it to the final factory gunfight. All 30 or so seconds of it though. But, it has some sweet editing in it that makes it real exciting to watch.

Best Line/Exchange: The thug who murdered Bronson's girlfriend picks up an electronic soccer ball with a bomb in it. Kersey comes out of hiding and yells, "I know how to fix that dandruff problem of yours!" BOOM! That's how you do it, Death Wish style baby.

Also Check Out:

Harry Brown (2010): If you want a good vigilante movie starring an elderly actor, watch this! Michael Caine is so awesome in this extremely brutal and intense British version of Death Wish in a sense. It draws many similarities, but plays to today's society more. This is exactly what a Death Wish remake would look like, and that's not a bad thing.

Gran Torino (2009): This is a film that has a thing or two to say about vigilantism and crime without having to be excessively violent. Clint Eastwood plays Walt, a bitter and hardened man who has to protect a neighborhood from some vicious gangsters. This is what Death Wish V should have been, a serious drama featuring a very elderly actor who finds a way to kick ass and deliver a profound message as well.

Death Wish (1974): Just go back and watch the first entry in the franchise to remind you what this all started with. We went from being a serious drama to being an absurd action film to being a low budget actioner with cheap everything.