El regreso del justiciero

No home invasion for the first time in these. Although I guess drugs entering ones system, can be viewed as an invasion too, yes? I'll leave that up to you. The movies and Charles Bronson hit a nerve, with cracking down on criminals. Now I assume many things will not sit well with people and their views today and maybe further in the future, but it is what it is.

When Bronson has someone near to him being harmed, he goes ballistic. Though as we know from the first movie, he does not have any love left for the people he would consider scum. This mixes a bit of what made westerns succesful. So after being inspired by Dirty Harry, this has also elements of the Man with No name trilogy by ... Clint Eastwood. At least that is what you can call Bronson playing two sides of crime families ... nice touch overall if you are not too sensitive

Now if you expect to watch some Academy Award material here, stop reading and buy and rent something else. But if you want action-book material on the telly, this might just be the right stuff. Kersey is back, this time fighting two cocaine-gangs. Lee Thompson's directing is much more adequate than with several other Bronson-vehicles, the picture has a story to tell (whereas part 3 was just video game material) and fortunately it brings in Kay Lenz in a supporting role instead of trying to fit in Mrs Bronson (Jill Ireland) again. With nasty villains and one or two dumb police-officers we have an evening with some nice twists, shoot outs and a really good and original opening scene. Production values must have been up as well. Apart from the original this one outranks # 2.3 & 5 by far. Recommended.

The massively cool anti-hero of this legendary movie franchise was about 65 years of age when he filmed "Death Wish 4". In these present times and around the world – and most definitely in the year 1987 – this is a more than respectable age to enjoy retirement, but not of course is your name is Charles "Charlie" Bronson! While the vast majority of guys his age are planning Wednesday afternoon fishing trips and watching reruns of "The Little House on the Prairie", Bronson is still too busy sweeping the filth off the big city streets in his very own and inimitable style. The fourth in the series didn't have good old Michael Winner in the director's seat for the very first time, but with J. Lee Thompson as his replacement, Charlie could nevertheless depend on one of his best action movie buddies. The two already made numerous and similarly themed movies together, including "Murphy's Law", "The Evil that Men Do" and "10 to Midnight". Once again, honorable architect by day and angel of vengeance by night Paul Kersey loses a loved one (the teenage daughter of his new girlfriend) to a crime related incident. He not-so-inconspicuously kills the pusher who sold the girl her last and fatal dose of drugs and hereby catches the attention of millionaire Nathan White. He also lost his daughter to a drug overdose and wants to hire Kersey to clean the Los Angeles streets once and for all. Can Charles Bronson single-handedly eliminate the two main cartels that are together responsible for 90% of the LA drug-traffic? Well, he sure can! In good old "Death Wish" tradition, you shouldn't look for logic or plausibility in script but merely enjoy the spectacular action sequences and the giant bad-guys body count! There hardly are any cars or buildings that Charlie doesn't blow up, and even though he's up against two – supposedly – professional and well-organized crime networks, he even finds the time to squeeze off a handful of dry humorous one-liners ("I was making a sandwich" he says to a hired killer who catches him hiding out in the kitchen). You particularly got to love how Bronson goes straight to his target without much of a plan and a minimum of preparation. It's rather questionable that anyone could just infiltrate a major drug lord's private mansion simply disguised as a waiter during a birthday party, or as a factory worker in the top-secret merchandise shipping lair, but if you're only interested in waterproof preparation plan you should watch "Ocean's Eleven" instead of the "Death Wish" series. It also helps Charlie that apparently none of his opponents can shoot a gun properly and that they all underestimate the bare-knuckle fighting talents of a 65-year-old. The script, from the hand of Gail Morgan Hickman, attempts to bring a couple of admirable – but nevertheless predictable – abrupt twists near the climax and there's a quintessential 80's sequence set inside a roller blade disco. Ah, good times! Personally I don't understand why so many people around here claim it's one of the worst movies ever made. Do you honestly expect to see a masterpiece of plotting and/or suspense when you settle yourself down in front of something called "Death Wish 4: The Crackdown"? All of Charles Bronson's eighties flicks deliver exactly the same: brainless and violent entertainment. This one isn't an exception at all.

With the "D W" complete body of work being shown on consecutive nights on the cable AMC Channel -- I was able to see the original and this one a couple of evenings apart, both for the first time in several years.

Again, I found myself drawn to a couple of distractions, namely, an unimportant and curious one: Why entitle II and V with Roman Numerals, and 3 and 4 with Arabic ones? Just wondered. Also, couldn't help but ponder from reading Puzo's book and seeing the movies: Who lost more close friends, family, etc., to murder, Don Corleone, or mild-mannered architect/conscientious objector, Paul Kersey?

The original gave a plausible reason for Paul's ability with guns, although he had eschewed them following his gun collector/father's death in a hunting accident.

But as these series installments proceeded, and you look at them anew now, there are other fascinations: Charlie performed these roles beginning in his 50's to a period where he had been eligibile for early social security payments for over a decade.

Further, he rotated between both coasts, having no trouble becoming ensconced comfortably every time, with successful business activity, a host of friends (many of whom met their demise), and a dual schedule which would keep either a full-time businessman or a full-time mob button man busy at his singular profession -- but Paul handled both with little detraction from either by the other.

And his affinity for hand guns (and undoubtedly rifles) as previously explained aside -- Paul also seems to have had the ability to acquire capabilities with regard a wide variety of heavy weaponry and ordnance exceeding a level reached by, say, even General Patton.

Finally, while I've always lived several hundred miles from each coast, my best friend is in L.A., and I have friends in New York City, and have spent regular extended periods in both. In these flicks, unlike any experience my friends (or I) have had, or know of anyone who has -- Paul keeps a dual schedule in both his lives whereby he seems never to be impeded by traffic jams or any big city delays - whether engaged in architectural duties, dispatching hosts of villains, and evading detection just about every time. {He also seems to have the time also (along with the cleverness of a CIA/FBI operative), to infiltrate when and where necessary to further his objectives of vengeance.}

A fascinating "body of work," even more so decades after original release. Among them, though, this one has more intricacy and some essence of plot/some twists/etc., not much evident in the others.

Here's a far different Death Wish, to the former three. Yes, crack has claimed the life of another person, Bronson's close to, that being the daughter (Vacation's Barron) of his new girlfriend (Lenz). So Charlie goes undercover to bust the bastards, after being enlisted by a guy (John P Ryan) who lost his son to crack. Of course, much more realistic to bubblegum pic, number 3 (my favorite) this entry, sees a wearied Bronson, doing what he does best, playing Mr Cliché tough guy, where the movie really goes into the drug problem, but more so just has Charlie, kicking arse. He masquerades as a bartender to a playboy drug kingpin, who became his cop partner, in J Lee Thompson's next flick, Kinjite, where later Charlie is played for a sucker. Just watching the party scene, we can patently see, Charlie would rather be somewhere else, but if you're a desperate or more so is the case here, typecast actor, you have to take what you can get. Too this Death Wish has a nice twist near the end, I liked, something you never would of expected in this, though this film is far from the superior original. I think with watching this forth one, here's a good time for Charlie to hang up his boots and be done with this franchise, in what is an interesting and not badly made pic. Sadly it wasn't, with the desperate and final entry six years later, the sickest Death Wish yet. Death wish fans will still be content here, especially when Charlie brings out the big guns, reprising his role, as Mr Vigilante Paul Kersey, one of his greatest acting performances, ever.