Death Wish 4: The Crackdown

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.

This is a good fun movie. The story is basically Charles Bronson killing gangsters! Imagine Grand Theft Auto 3 as a movie, and you got The Crack Down! The ending to the film is even somewhat of a remake of Yojimbo! I definetely recommend this movie to action lovers! This will not let you down! For God's sake, there's a roller rink shootout!!!! 5/5 STARS

Charles Bronson, back again as vigilante / architect Paul Kersey, goes back to the L.A. setting in this fourth "Death Wish" movie, the first not directed by Michael Winner (that honour goes to J. Lee Thompson, another frequent collaborator). Kersey is dating reporter Karen Sheldon (Kay Lenz), whose teen daughter Erica (Dana Barron, a.k.a. the original Audrey Griswold) overdoses on cocaine. He then takes up a stranger (John P. Ryan) on his proposal: get the city's competing drug empires to go to war with each other. This Kersey does in his inimitable style, with the body count hitting very respectable numbers.

The story (by Gail Morgan Hickman) is patently nonsensical, with holes in the plot to match the many bullet holes in the onslaught of expendable henchmen. That said, it IS entertaining, straightforward stuff: action-packed, gleefully violent nonsense with an anti-drug message to justify itself. At least by having Bronson take on entire gangs (in part 3) and these criminal organizations here provides enough of a spin on the standard "Death Wish" formula. You have to wonder why Kersey would ever get close to anybody, though, since from that day on they seem to grow targets on their backs.

At the end of the day, there are enough amusing moments to make the thing worth watching, such as Bronson's response to a thug inquiring why Bronson is in his kitchen. And there is absolutely no shortage of utterly scummy bad guys whose demises we can cherish. But none of it can quite match the opening credit sequence in a parking garage: it provides a punchline that's more interesting than anything that follows.

An ageing Bronson is still a potent hero here, and he receives capable support from much of the cast. Lenz is sorely under-utilized, but Ryan, Soon-Tek Oh (as a police detective), and Perry Lopez (as one of the drug kingpins) are all good. You can also play "spot the familiar face", because there's a bunch of them: George Dickerson, Danny Trejo, Mike Moroff, Tom Everett, Irwin Keyes, Tim Russ, Mark Pellegrino, and Mitch Pileggi. Trejo exits the picture in hilarious fashion.

Fairly good fun overall, the movie is best recommended to undiscriminating action fans.

Six out of 10.