"No judge, no jury, no appeals, no deals."...( read more)Wish film series arrived on the twentieth anniversary of Paul's first attempt to stifle crime on the streets of New York City (or preferably blow it away), and it represents the last screen appearance of the legendary Charles Bronson.
With 1994's Death Wish V: The Face of Death, architect/vigilante Paul Kersey (Bronson) further confirms that he is the single most unlucky man on the planet. This fifth and final instalment in the long-running Death
One seriously has to wonder about the mortality rate of Paul Kersey's loved ones. In this sequel Paul once again enters a relationship with a woman about twenty years his junior (the sort of woman that would likely give him a heart attack if they did anything in the bedroom together). His girlfriend this time - a woman in the fashion industry named Olivia (Down) - is involved with the mafia, and dies horribly as a consequence. Kersey is less than pleased about his fiancée's death, bringing about a pertinent question from the police: "You're not thinking about going back to your old ways, are you?"
Of course, asking Paul such a question in a Death Wish movie is akin to asking "Is the sky blue?"
Death Wish V: The Face of Death (reverting back to Roman numerals in the title for reasons unknown) drifts further away from the original Death Wish, dishing up an abundance of action violence (capitalising on Paul's potential to be the next Rambo) rather than providing a societal commentary. Moreover, the Death Wish sequels all unmistakably advocate vigilante justice rather than condoning it, and they continually reiterate the message that the law system doesn't work. It's rubbish. And it's moralistically fucked up.
The problems with Death Wish V mainly stem from the elementary screenplay. The dialogue is flat and the film is packed with clichés (ranging from corrupt cops to a villain who has most of the city on his payroll). The straightforward revenge scenario is stale, and the one-man army formula is preposterous because Paul is so damn old (Bronson was at a ripe old age of seventy-two during filming). The set-up preceding Olivia's death is somewhat extended, as if the screenwriters were trying to establish some form of genuine emotional connection between Paul and Olivia to make her demise more devastating. Yet in the long run, the relationship is too naff and uninteresting. The actors share no chemistry.
The action set-pieces are directed with a certain degree of flair by newcomer Allan A. Goldstein, though everything is fairly pedestrian. Meanwhile (some quotable tough guy dialogue aside) Bronson phones in his performance here, and there's an air of embarrassment accompanying his arthritic manoeuvring during the action sequences. It's unintentionally hilarious watching Bronson leap here and there while the armed villains (who are usually less than three metres away with a clear shot at the man) are unable to hit him. Furthermore, Paul Kersey no longer uses a badass pistol to dish out punishment - now he murders his victims using poison, remote-controlled soccer ball bombs and dry-cleaner's plastic. Bronson is not the face of death in this film...he's the face of old. If another sequel materialised, it probably would've been set in a retirement home.
At its most basic level, Death Wish V: The Face of Death is a watchable action film. If you're seeking violence served up by the shovelful, this movie will scratch that itch (it has a fair amount of action and cool deaths). If you want a further exploration of the fascinating underlying themes of the original Death Wish, however, you shouldn't be watching the sequels. It's difficult to recommend this fifth instalment unless you're a completist. It's depressing that such a low-grade actioner became the final theatrical film of Charles Bronson (who appeared only on television in the years leading up to his death).
Death Wish 6 was apparently considered, but this idea was canned. The quality could have only declined further with a sixth film, so consider it clemency that the planned fifth sequel was never brought to fruition.
Death Wish V: The Face of Death
37%
liked it
Death Wish V: The Face of Death
Charles Bronson, Chuck Shamata, Lesley-Anne Down, Michael Parks, Saul Rubinek
Drifting as far from Michael Winner's original and interesting 1974 Death Wish as possible, this belated sequel in an often ugly series is nevertheless a harmless, fairly conventional thriller featuri...( read more
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Id: 10905564
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Recent Reviews
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August 10, 2009"No judge, no jury, no appeals, no deals."
...( read more)
With 1994's Death Wish V: The Face of Death, architect/vigilante Paul Kersey (Bronson) further confirms that he is the single most unlucky man on the planet. This fifth and final instalment in the long-running Death -
January 28, 2008**SPOILERS** The fifth last and most vicious and violent of all the "Death Wish" movies based on the sadistic and brutal scenes in the film, even though the body count in "Death Wish V" seemed to be the lowest of all the previous sequels with the exception of the original "Death ...( read more)
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December 1, 2008I gotta say, in this final chapter of the Death Wish saga, Paul gave the cops every chance to get the bad guys before he acted. His M.O. was completely different too. Poison cannoli? Really? It was practically a movie about a different character with the Death Wish label slap...( read more)
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December 11, 2007A great ending to a great franchise. Two extremely likable villains, Tom O Shea and Freddy Flakes (I think that's his name, the dandruff guy). Even in his twilight years, you really shouldn't piss Bronson off. Plus a lot of laugh out loud moments and the best fat man through a...( read more)
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August 9, 2009This Death Wish more than made up for Death Wish IV. And I mean that in the sense it delivers what you expect from a Death Wish movie- cliched punchlines, violence galore, and bad guys getting what they deserve in as creative ways as possible. The mobsters are a bit laughable th...( read more)
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April 29, 2008Bronson's last Death Wish movie.
Adam West of TV's Batman fame would have been a better choice for the main villain. -
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February 21, 2008This is a soild end for this series. At one one time they planned to continue the series with a Death Wish 6 and replace Bronson with the character of Chelsea from this film as the vigilante but this plan never came to pass.
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February 4, 2008pretty far from the original in quality and story but still pretty interesting.
