Death Sentence
Plot: Nick Hume (Kevin Bacon) is a family man devoted to his wife and two sons. When his eldest son is killed in what appears to be a robbery, Nick gets a look at the face of the killer- a young boy who is doing his ‘rite of passage’ killing to get into his brother’s gang. Nick’s solicitor says that there is no way that the boy will get life based solely on his eye witness report, so nick decides to drop his statement and go after the boy himself. When the boy dies, the gang seek revenge, starting a long chain of violence.
My Thoughts: Death Wish is back, but without Charles Bronson. Kevin acts the part very well. You can see his horror and fear when the first (accidental) death occurs, and how every action after that delves him deeper into turmoil. The scenes are dark, graphic and well shot. And even though, as the cop says ‘everyone thinks they are right in a war, but they’re not. They just end up dead’ (or something like that) you can’t help but empathise with the guy. The plot is straight-forward and doesn’t deliver any twists, but it does offer a couple of shocks, and the ending was pretty predictable but still excellently delivered.
On the whole, it is a gory new version of the Death Wish genre.
Best bit: The car park scene and the scene in the family home when the gang attacks
Score: 8/10