Sometimes reviewers get so caught up in their own little vision of what entertainment ought to be that they can't loosen up and just enjoy a movie for what it is. Case in point is "Death Wish 4: The Crackdown." Charles Bronson returns as mild-mannered vigilante Paul Kersey, only this time he's taking on a powerful drug cartel, his girlfriend's daughter having died of a crack overdose. Backed by a mysterious publisher named Nathan White, Kersey yet again transforms himself into a one-man army dishing out justice where justice is due.
Of all the "Death Wish" films, this ranks not only as one of the best, but as the most complex. The plot takes an interesting twist or two, particularly when it appears White is not who appeared to be and Kersey pits rival drug dealers against one another. It's also fun to watch Kersey employ his inventive methods of "thinning the herd" (as he put it in a previous "Death Wish"). The scene where he passes himself off as a wine salesman, for instance, is great. Who would have thought an explosion that massive could result from such a small bottle-disguised bomb? And besides all of that, who doesn't want to see drug dealers get what's coming to them?
Is "Death Wish 4" slightly cheesy? Perhaps. Are the characters deep and the production values high? No. Is it completely outlandish to see a senior citizen pickin' off bad guys? Sure. But nobody ever claimed that this movie was going to win awards. Producers just wanted to give their intended audience a good time, and in that task, they succeeded.
Of all the "Death Wish" films, this ranks not only as one of the best, but as the most complex. The plot takes an interesting twist or two, particularly when it appears White is not who appeared to be and Kersey pits rival drug dealers against one another. It's also fun to watch Kersey employ his inventive methods of "thinning the herd" (as he put it in a previous "Death Wish"). The scene where he passes himself off as a wine salesman, for instance, is great. Who would have thought an explosion that massive could result from such a small bottle-disguised bomb? And besides all of that, who doesn't want to see drug dealers get what's coming to them?
Is "Death Wish 4" slightly cheesy? Perhaps. Are the characters deep and the production values high? No. Is it completely outlandish to see a senior citizen pickin' off bad guys? Sure. But nobody ever claimed that this movie was going to win awards. Producers just wanted to give their intended audience a good time, and in that task, they succeeded.