Mom's Minute

Disclaimer:  My movie review below of the film Death Wish is a reprint published previously awhile back right after I saw it in the movie theater.

By the way, the movie Death Wish is rated R and should not be watched by anyone under 17 years of age.

Introduction to the Bruce Willis Death Wish Movie Review by Ms. H

If you saw the latest John Wick movie -- John Wick: Chapter 2 -- you will undoubtedly notice there was many shooting scenes. After seeing Death Wish, starring Bruce Willis, I must say this movie did not have quite as many shootings as the John Wick movie, but the vivid details of the shootings and other methods of destruction that were violently gruesome had the same negative affect.

Bruce Willis Returns in the Bruce Willis Death Wish Movie

There was quite a buzz about Death Wish a few months before the movie released -- some good and some bad. I was awaiting the release of Death Wish to come to my own conclusions about this movie. Additionally, I was anticipating seeing Death Wish since it has been awhile since I’ve seen Bruce Willis in a blockbuster type movie. Oftentimes he has small roles in movies where he probably used his name to command a huge salary. An example of this would be the straight to DVD movie he had a minor role in such as Precious Cargo.

Plot of the Bruce Willis Death Wish Movie

The plot of Death Wish should not be a surprise, especially if you saw the original Death Wish movies that starred Charles Brunson from back in the day. In the current version of Death Wish, Bruce Willis plays a doctor who “avenges” his wife’s murder by taking the law into his own hands instead of relying on law enforcement authorities to capture the criminals. In Death Wish, it looks like Bruce Willis’ character Dr. Paul Kearsey who is a medical doctor becomes a vigilante and goes after other criminals as well. 

The Death Wish movie has been updated to include social media which was not around when the original Death Wish movies were made. Due to social media, just about everyone probably saw Bruce Willis’ character commit numerous crimes. However, this did not stop him from continuing on his criminal spree. In my opinion, the original Death Wish vigilante movie was intense, but this current version seemed to show violent scenes that were equally or more visually disturbing to me.

 Bruce Willis from the Die Hard Movie

Bruce Willis has played a number of characters during his acting career including John McClane from the successful Die Hard movie franchise. This is the movie he is probably most famous for but other good movies Bruce Willis starred in included The Sixth Sense, The Fifth Element and many others. I could not help looking for just a remnant of the Bruce Willis from the DIe Hard movies in this character he was playing.  Unfortunately, I did not see any resemblance. Bruce Willis’ character showed no sign of empathy at any times during this movie even though he was playing the part of a doctor. The storyline has Bruce Willis’ character using his medical knowledge for evil instead of good. Of course Death Wish is a fictional movie so no part of this movie is to be taken seriously. That being said,  I think the writers chose Bruce Willis’ character to have an inappropriate profession in this movie given the violent acts he was going to commit.

Assessment of the Bruce Willis Death Wish Movie

I wanted to like this movie, especially since it was a Bruce Willis film.  As I alluded to earlier -- this was a fictional story; however, the violent scenes performed by Bruce Willis’ character did not sit well with me. There were a few good parts in the movie, like the pose Bruce Willis made at the end of the movie, which sort of reminded me of the Bruce Willis from the Die Hard movies -- but that was it. As I look back on Death Wish, the dominant scenes that I remember are the violent ones.  For that reason I have to give the movie, Death Wish, a low rating.

Rating of the Bruce Willis Death Wish Movie

Based on a rating of 1 star to 5 stars with 5 stars being the best, I rate Death Wish one and a half (1 ½) stars.