Part vigilante drama and part psychological thriller, the James Wan-directed Death Sentence stars Kevin Bacon as Nick Hume, a deceptively passive exec whose wife and children are attacked in a sadistic, gang-related hazing rite, and his oldest son killed. Hell-bent on cold-blooded vengeance, Hume pulls a Bronson by tagging each of the perpetrators, then tracking down and rubbing out each one, with the help of formidable, blue-steel artillery. Aisha Tyler co-stars as the homicide detective who
first agrees to assist Hume in his mission, then begins to edge up to the conclusion that the unstable father himself might be responsible for the nasty crimes against his family. Kelly Preston co-stars as Bacon's wife, Helen Hume; the cast also features John Goodman (The Big Lebowski), Leigh Whannell (Saw), and Matt O'Leary. Ian Jeffers loosely adapted Brian Garfield's popular 1975 novel. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
Bacon, as usual, is very good even when he's slumming, and as a trashy B-movie redo of Death Wish the movie works well enough for a Saturday afternoon with a case of brewskies.
It's a gritty, adrenaline-soaked thriller -- and if that's as deep as you care to dig, you'll be entertained. But for those who care to contemplate, it's quite a bit more.
More tainted yuppie superhero wet dream, than Charles Bronson anti-inner city backlash burb paranoid freakout. And as a result, the lines are more clearly drawn as to distributed dark sides of these sympathy-challenged characters.
I don't know....It was both good and bad....but I guess mostly good. John Goodman was pretty cool
November 28, 2010
Martin Sahlin
Super Reviewer
Death Sentence would be the worst movie of the year if it weren't for two people. The first being Kevin Bacon. He creates the character this kind of movie needs. You're everyday man with the perfect family and the perfect job. Anyone can relate to him. But when his son is killed in a random robbery by a vicious gang,
he takes it upon himself to enact his own revenge plot against them. It sucks when the judicial system can't help you, but I hear crap like this on the news all the time: scumbags getting off for killing innocent people based on sheer technicality. That's why you can cheer for a guy like this in the movies. It's cathartic.The second is director James Wan. He doesn't really try to make the horrid screenplay better. He just covers the flaws up in style, flair, and some really hilarious action pieces. The gang members of this movie really are the dumbest gang members in the world, but then again, that can be said about any street gang. While he is often in too much of a hurry to get to the next action scene, he gets the required performances out of the actors. There isn't much to care about, but I think that sort of saves the film. This is cinematic cheese at its finest, and I'm not hear to watch a story. I want to see dumb asses get their faces blown off by Kevin Bacon and his shotgun.
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