dave@cylixd.UUCP (Dave Kirby) (11/02/85)
All right, all you who are afraid to be seen going into a theatre to see "Death Wish III," I took upon myself the shame and saw the film, and I'll review it for you. This is probably the only review you will see of this movie, because I doubt any of our regular critics will spend their money to see this film. INTRODUCTION: Did you ever think you would see the day when you thought the original "Death Wish" was a calm, intellectual, objective film? Just see "Death Wish III." You will gain new respect for the original. PLOT: This review cannot possibly be a spoiler, even if I gave away the whole plot, because the plot of this movie is so predictable after the first 20 minutes it is laughable. It got so incredibly stupid that I began laughing midway through the movie. In order to enjoy this film, you must check your brains at the theatre entrance. There were so many logical inconsistencies that I lost count. And the film got more and more far-fetched. Bronson ends up blowing away a guy with - you're not going to believe this - a hand-held missile launcher that he got in the mail from his favourite supply house. I wondered at this point whether the film really took itself seriously; I found out later, to my chagrin, that it indeed meant to be serious. SCREENPLAY: The screenplay is just a little bit better - I would say average (in some scenes it actually reaches "good" but on the whole I would rate it average). It helps to make the plot bearable at times. ACTING: The good actors are VERY good, and the bad ones are VERY bad. Charles Bronson himself is hard to judge, because in this film he doesn't act much at all. He walks through the film with the same stone-face, save for a few occasional moments where he does show emotion; in these scenes he does a good job. The guy who plays the leader of the street gang (the main antagonist and all-out bad guy) is very convincing; he does an excellent job of conveying the violent hatred his character possesses. Some of the other gang members are laughably bad actors. DIRECTION: The movie is well-directed. It is not as rough-cut as the original "Death Wish;" it was much slicker, although still rougher than, say, "Scarface." The violence was extremely graphic, and well-done. This is the bloodiest movie I have seen since "Scarface." I loved it. CINEMATOGRAPHY: Good, though not excellent. The stage settings were well-done, with the inner-city scenes painting a picture of seething violence with just the backdrops. The picture quality was excellent, well-lit, and clear. OVERALL IMPRESSION: This film works as a violence roller-coaster. It was obviously meant to be just that, and it definitely fulfills all expectations at that level. It is terrible if you are expecting any intellectual stimulation at all; it was not made to speak to the intellect, but rather to the raw violent emotions buried deep within. It does speak somewhat to the intellect, but what it says is insulting. But I liked the movie, for two reasons: First, I am the kind of demented pervert who loves graphic violence, and this film had all the graphic violence I would ever want to see. Second, I found it curiously refreshing to be able to sit through a whole film and not have to think even once. In order to enjoy this film, and to see it on the level for which it was intended, you must put your brain in neutral and put your emotions in high gear. Then, the movie is enjoyable as a violent roller-coaster ride. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Kirby ( ...!ihnp4!akgub!cylixd!dave) (The views expressed herein are the exclusive property of Dave Kirby. Any person, living or dead, found with the same or similar opinions will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of law.)
absary@watmath.UUCP (Al Sary) (11/05/85)
How about the music? It was, again, composed by Jimmy Page.
absary@watmath.UUCP (Al Sary) (11/07/85)
In article <437@cylixd.UUCP> dave@cylixd.UUCP (Dave Kirby) writes: > >All right, all you who are afraid to be seen going into a theatre to >see "Death Wish III," I took upon myself the shame and saw the film, >and I'll review it for you. This is probably the only review you will >see of this movie, because I doubt any of our regular critics will >spend their money to see this film. > > ... You weren't the only one to see "Death Wish III" over the weekend. It was the top money maker with $5.3 million for last weekend. (It's not my fault if the figure is incorrect; I wasn't the one who counted all that money.)