Death Sentence - Movie Review
I love revenge thrillers. Death Wish, of course, is my favorite. Last year there were two out at the same time. The Brave One starring Jodie Foster and Death Sentence written by the same guy who wrote Death Wish. I saw The Brave One in the theaters. In short, it stunk. It wasn’t sure if it wanted to be a revenge thriller or something that preaches against vigilante justice and it featured one of the worst endings of all time. By the time I was ready to see Death Sentence it was gone from theaters.
After months of waiting I finally picked up the DVD last night with high hopes. Kevin Bacon stars in this one as a VP of some big company whose perfect life is changed forever by needless gang violence. The movie, rated R for strong bloody brutal violence and pervasive language, looked like it was going to deliver the goods.
The bad news is Kevin Bacon is no Charles Bronson, not even close. Bacon’s character is an idiot and, for the most part, soft. If you’re making a revenge movie, rule #1: the protagonist should be a badass, or at least turn into a badass at some point. On top of that, the movie’s villains are the most ridiculous gang this side of The Warriors. With numerous gapping holes of logic, the story quickly became laughable. The greatest piece of unintentional comedy is John Goodman in a bit part as a gun dealer and the worst parent ever.
Posted by chuck at January 12, 2008 8:06 AM
