Customer Reviews for
Death Wish 2
Dark, brutal, eerie, atmospheric.
The "Death Wish" series is an interesting grab bag of films. The original was a serious look at a potentially possible situation involving an individual taking the law into his own hands due to dissatisfaction with the legal system. DW 3, 4, and 5 were comic-book style action/thrillers with barely any connection to the original.
So "Death Wish 2" lies somewhere in between. Again, the "dark comic" feel is definitely present in this film, but there is a seriousness and believability not found in the other sequels. Here, Bronson isn't wielding chainguns and anti-tank weaponry as he would in the next film, but instead a simple .45 automatic.
"Death Wish 2"'s story is quite simple, and should already be known if you know what happened in the original film. In the first one Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) turns vigilante after his wife is beaten to death and his daughter sexually assaulted by Jeff Goldblum and Co. He hit the streets of wintry 70s NYC to do what he could to stop what had happened to his family from happening to others. "Death Wish 2" takes place in warm retro-80s LA, so immediately the feel is a bit different (warmer maybe?). This time around his maid is raped and murdered by Laurence Fishburne and Co., and rape his daughter AGAIN to the point where she runs in a daze through a window and lands on a conveniently-placed spiked fence. Bronson, of course is not too happy and soon sets out on the streets to find the scum. Whereas in the first film he targeted random thugs, he specifically targets his maid/daughter's violators in this one, giving it a more satisfying feel for the audience.
This is an excellent piece of 80s action/crime cinema. The shaky opening camera shot of the LA sunrise, accompanied by very unsettling music by Jimmy Page, immediately sets the tone and tells viewers there is BIG TROUBLE coming up. The 80s LA atmosphere is amplified greatly and the sleazy, trashy feel of the film is amplified not only by a substantial increase in the graphic nature of the assault scenes and Bronson's pain packages, but also by the excellent soundtrack by Jimmy Page (I think the only reason it was nominated for a Razzie was because it was too discordant for critics). As mentioned previously, a 20-year old Laurence Fishburne make an appearance as one of the rapist thugs as well as Kevyn Major Howard, who would later go on to co-star in "Full Metal Jacket."
In short, this is a visceral and atmospheric retro-80s action flick that fans of Charles Bronson, action, and/or exploitation genres should have no trouble enjoying.Death Wish 2
What Happened To Chicago?
Last we left off with our vigilante hero he had transplanted himself to CHICAGO after being kicked-out of NY. But, here in DEATH WISH II Bronson is firmly routed in LOS ANGELES! No explanation is given as to how or why he ended up in LA?? We quickly find out that the vigilante is up to the same tricks.
This is a leaner meaner Bronson in Death Wish II. He has traded in his trench coat for a Members Only jacket! As well as taken to hand-to-hand combat. The plot is the same as the first. His poor daughter from the first pic gets even more abuse! Mentally damaged by thugs in the first film. Now, she is again used to illicit blood thirsty vengeance from our hero after the vicious gang rapes her. This time he's battling 80's East LA hoodlums one of which is played by Lawrence Fishburn.
As in the first film Death Wish '74 the racial stereotypes continue. They abound everywhere from the gang members to his house maid. Of course the producers made sure there were token white males also in the gang. But, it is still a very heavy handed and obvious portrayal or racial stereotypes where minorities are either the criminals or are busy making tacos.Death Wish 2
If we learn one thing, let it be that nobody ever should provoke someone with the name Charles.
The list is as long as it is astounding. Bronson, Norris(as Chuck is short for Charles), Manson, Murphy(as Charlie is short for Charles). Sid could go on all day. This is like a public service announcement: If you meet someone named Charles or any variation, you better be as nice as you can.
We see this horrifying paralell again in Death Wish 2. In fact, you know what? Everything about this movie was horrifying. We, Sid the Elf were shocked that this movie was made in 1982. I mean, if I'm the only one I'll shut up. But this movie had a distinctly 70's feel to it. Maybe it was the curly white man fro on the leader of the gang, or the wierd colors in Bronson's house, or maybe the music. Let's get that out of the way right now. The music in this movie was...atrocious, deplorable, hillarious; you know, they all actually work. It was like the producer couldn't find anybody to do the music and said to himself, "Well, I did get my 13 year-old nephew that casio keyboard and synthesizer for Christmas(see? Santa treats everybody right!!!!) he could probably pull it off." Well, no it is not true. This film was just overpowered with wierd sounding synth music that exagerated every scene in the film. The music situation sums up the whole experiance of watching this movie, really. If you're looking for quality, probably not your first choice. But, if you're looking for some really great, top-notch B look no further.
While there were so many things that made Death Wish 2 b, the one that stood out the most were all the questions this film brought about in Sid's head. For example, how did this black cloud of people antagonizing Bronson follow him cross-country? Isn't it historically unprecidented that guys would just keep finding women in Bronson's life to assault causing him to lash out on both coasts of U.S. and A, greatest country in the world? Why oh why did Bronson's daughter jump out of the window while running away from the men who had just assaulted her?(although, this did open the door to people getting impaled in movies, so it's a wash really.) Is this how life was back then?(Sid was just a baby elf and does not remember the early 80's well.) Did gangs of hooligans go around looking for ugly Mexican housekeepers to force themselves upon? How did they manage to make 5 of these? This is only the second film in the series, so how long did it take Bronson to realize that maybe he should just do everyone a favor and live in the mountains alone, instead of moving from city to city causing mayhem?(Sounds familiar, right? Sid thinks the Real World producers got their idea from the Death Wish series.) Finally, how in the world did Lawrence Fishburne become a successful actor after this?
So, we've just finished watching a little over an hour of people antagonizing Bronson, and him performing a huge amount of vigilante killings. All that's left is for them to wrap everything up in a nice little bow and everyone will be happ--and it just ends. The closing credits rolled as Sid stared at the screen in astonishment. One of the most perplexing/funny moments in Sid's memory when it comes to film. Words really cannot do it justice. It just added another layer to this already wonderful b.
Another thing that was very b, and frankly brought the film to a higher level was Bronson. There is no way, we mean ZERO chance that Bronson memorized a single line for this film with the exception of "Do you believe in Jesus? You're going to meet him." They absolutely had cue cards for this one. And Bronson always took that one extra split second to read and deliver his lines. This just added so much to the film and Sid could go on forever, but we digress. So, definitely catch Death Wish if you're looking for extreme b some enjoyable action and Bronson at his finest or his worst depending on your point of view.Death Wish 2
by far the best of the sequels
While it's quite the norm now to make sequels to Rambo, Die Hard, Terminator, etc 15-20 years later, the eight year wait between Death Wish and this seemed interminable. Readers by now know what these films are about. No one will mistake these films for being Oscar nominated, but where they do excel is the need for vengeance fulfilled. And sadly, there aren't any Bronson's in Hollywood today. What I enjoyed about the first two is Charles' believability and physicality. He's running, jumping, shooting and punching and you're rooting for him the entire time. He absolutely looks the part and excels in the role of vigilante. What I find more enjoyable in II is he knows who's responsible this time and expels the criminals one by one with the hospital room fight at the end being the best part of the film. Also, the clearly drawn Clark Kent/Superman parallel of Kersey's architect by day, vigilante by night with change in clothing to further support this. The return of Vincent Gardenia connects both films and the change to Los Angeles makes for a more sinister, but still entertaining city backdrop. Sadly, the sequels following this don't have the same connectivity or craftsmanship as Charles is reduced to standing still with any artillery blazing until he comes off as a mockery of his once potent character.Death Wish 2
forensic buff
I always liked Charles Bronson's acting. His vigilante type justice in Death Wish is "hero." The police didn't seem to be able to accomplish justice and he did it for them.Death Wish 2
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