Death Wish

In theaters now. Fun, for me, except, well, I never saw the original, although it is often heralded as a masterpiece in its own right, for whatever reason. Iconic story. Iconic storytelling. Good actor — Charles Bronson, I’m thinking, but no, I don’t know.

The remake, with Bruce Willis, my first instinct, before seeing the movie, but with trailers everywhere — as an actor, isn’t he too old to be in an action film? Never mind, just a question.

Almost cameo role by Elizabeth Shue, and I cringed when she came on the set, knowing from oral histories that she was about to get whacked, in a gory way. Yeah, can’t say I wasn’t warned.

Low on the creep factor, amusing on the handgun level as it makes a viewer want to hop on over to the gun store and pick out some legal weapons. Maybe a Glock?

Fun movie, perhaps a little too much plot, but not too much subtext, and good in many ways.

Vigilante justice works on the big screen, and there’s a very visceral sense to it. Not so much in the real world.

“Don’t try this at home,” or, in my case, without adult supervision. As a stand-alone film, though, quite satisfying.

Death Wish

With Bruce Willis, etc. At the Alamo Drafthouse.