Death Wish (2018) - Not bad, actually (based on 'remake standards')

I know what everyone is thinking... 'Oh, no, not ANOTHER remake.' Yes, I was thinking that, too. 'Death Wish' is another film in the loooong line of classic Hollywood movies which producers think they can squeeze out a few more dollars at the Box Office by 'remaking/re-imagining/re-whatevering.' However, bearing in mind my cynical nature, no one was more amazed than me when I left the cinema quite impressed.

No, this new Bruce Willis incarnation of 'Death Wish' is no classic.  It won't be remembered in the same way its controversial original was, but, if you're into the whole 'revenge genre' (which Charles Bronson's 70s 'Death Wish' basically started!) then this should fit the bill.

Maybe because the original was made so long ago, you can actually re-tell the story in a modern setting and insert enough freshness into an old tale to make it work.  When Charles Bronson's 'Paul Kersey' found his family killed by muggers, he went out for revenge and never had to face the prospect of being filmed by Joe Public on their cameraphones, or requiring YouTube to learn how to maintain a firearm!

I think if the film has one flaw it's Bruce Willis himself.  I like him in his 'classic' films where he plays a hardman who goes around cracking villains' skulls, however, here he's supposed to be an 'everyman' who you wouldn't expect to go on a rampage of revenge.  I guess it was just a case of typecasting that made it difficult for me to see him so 'ordinary.' If I was casting 'Death Wish' I'd have cast someone like Bryan Cranston, as he's more of a nerdy nobody and therefore would be less physically intimidating than Willis.  And, while we're on 'Breaking Bad' references, it looks like 'Hank's' twin brother also shows up here as a Chicago cop.  Not much new acting required from Dean Norris, but, if you liked Hank, then you'll like him here, too.

Like I say, nothing too new, but nothing that makes a mockery of the original.  If you don't mind the violence that comes with a film like this, then don't lump it with the rest of the tiresome remakes.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that