While some may hold dear movie franchises such as Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings or anything having to do with Harry Potter, it’s actually Death Wish that does it for me – and I’m probably one of the few guys under fifty years of age who will say that. Hey, I’ve always been a fan of vigilante justice on film, and few other series have pulled it off so well.
Odds are that you’re probably familiar with characters like the Punisher, but what separated Charles Bronson’s Paul Kersey from a Frank Castle was that he was just your average guy who was dealt a very bad hand. Basically, someone close to him was killed in each of the five movies making up the original series, thus making for an even worse time for anybody who happened to be a street thug within Kersey’s locale.
Actually, the idea of rebooting the Death Wish franchise is something Hollywood has been kicking around for a while now. Believe it or not, Sylvester Stallone tried to revive it about a decade ago. And nothing against Sly himself, but the role of Paul Kersey needed someone who could pull off that “everyman” quality, and seeing an action icon such as him could potentially take you right out of the movie. Granted, some could argue the same for Bruce Willis, the man who has since landed the lead, but I believe he’s capable of toeing that line.
Having said all that, it’s great to see that the first trailer released to promote the remake retains the DNA of the franchise, yet manages to keep things fresh. It’s quite obvious that director Eli Roth has brought a bit more brutality to the project, but, again, we’re following a character that just lost someone dear to him, so who knows what someone like that’s capable of?
Death Wish arrives in theaters on November 22.
