By I unabashedly love the Death Wish series. They were hokey, over the top and I have fond memories of watching it with my college roommate one weekend when AMC played them all back to back years ago. So when I heard Eli Roth was going to direct a remake with Bruce Willis in the lead role as Paul Kersey I was a bit mixed on my feelings.On one hand Eli Roth is a competent director but he skews more towards gore horror, and depending on which side of the coin you get Willis he can either be great (Looper) or he can be crap (Cop Out). Also the fact that no one could ever replace Charles Bronson was also a sticking point for me but I’m willing to give anything a chance so let’s take a look at the trailer and get an idea for ourselves.
Well, that was a tale of two trailers if you ask me. For the first half I felt like they were going to get it right with the police not doing their job and Kersey taking the law into his own hands, it seemed to have some gravity and looked to be a good update on the classic American tale of gun ownership and vigilantism. Then the most cliche trailer music kicked in and it all came crumbling down.
I’m gonna put this in a paragraph by itself so the gravity is made clear. When I am made supreme ruler of Earth, using AC/DC’s “Back in Black” for trailer music will be an offense punishable by exile to a deserted island as well as forfeiture of all family property to me personally.
Right then, maybe the second half of the trailer was ruined because I was watching it through rolled eyes thanks to that music but it just seemed to lose the point there and devolve into the usual action movie cliches, but is that what I want? I don’t know I’m so confused. Someone hold me or beat me with a sock full of quarters please, whichever you choose. So even after the trailer I still don’t know to feel about this. I’ll probably still see it because like I said I love the original with all my heart but I’m apprehensive. Death Wish comes out on November 22nd this year and is distributed by Annapurna Pictures domestically and MGM internationally.
