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.

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.

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.

"Death Wish 4" is easily my favorite of the DW series, even though I really like most of the first entry. But you see, I find graphic, luridly depicted rape in films distasteful. I could take it in the first film, because there was at least some thematic and emotional need for it (though I still think it was overboard and gratuitous). Parts 2 and 3 escalated the rape and humiliation sequences and writer/director Michael Winner actually seemed to be trying to get us to enjoy the sight of tortured, crying, beaten, naked woman as much as he obviously did; combine this with zero plot, zero character development, and inept action, and you had some really, really bad flicks. Number four was directed by J. Lee Thompson, a frequent collaborator with Bronson since 1976's "St. Ives." Thompson took the usual DW revenge formula, eliminated the obligatory rape sequence, and ratcheted up the action. So what we have is a Death Wish picture more similar to "Murphy's Law" than any of the other films in the series. Of course Bronson's 80s films are often the butt of jokes (to those who remember them at all, that is) but I happen to enjoy them immensely--there's just something I dig about this charismatic, elderly guy running around shooting bad guys; I can't even explain it. If you dig the salt and pepper Bronson as well, then give DW4 a try.

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