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MOVIE INFO

Director:
Eli Roth
Cast:
Bruce Willis, Elisabeth Shue, Vincent D'Onofrio
Writing Credits:
Joe Carnahan

Synopsis:
After an attack on his family, Dr. Paul Kersey embarks on his own mission for justice.

Box Office:
Budget
$30 million.
Opening Weekend
$13,010,267 on 2847 Screens.
Domestic Gross
$34,017,028.

MPAA:
Rated R.

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio:
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
English Descriptive Audio 5.1
Spanish Dolby 5.1
French Dolby 5.1
Subtitles:
English
Spanish
French
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
English
French
Spanish

Runtime: 107 min.
Price: $34.99
Release Date: 6/5/2018
Bonus:
• Audio Commentary with Director Eli Roth and Producer Roger Birnbaum
• 4 Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary
• Extended Scenes
• “Vengenace and Vision” Featurette
• Previews & Trailers
• DVD Copy


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

EQUIPMENT
-LG OLED65C6P 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart OLED TV
-Marantz SR7010 9.2 Channel Full 4K Ultra HD AV Surround Receiver
-Panasonic DMP-BD60K Blu-Ray Player
-Chane A2.4 Speakers
-SVS SB12-NSD 12" 400-watt Sealed Box Subwoofer


RELATED REVIEWS


Death Wish [Blu-Ray] (2018)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (June 12, 2018)

A reworking of the famous Charles Bronson flick from 1974, 2018’s Death Wish offers director Eli Roth’s take on the material. Dr. Paul Kersey (Bruce Willis) works as at a Chicago emergency room and lives a comfortable suburban existence with wife Lucy (Elisabeth Shue) and teen daughter Jordan (Camila Morrone).

Paul finds his life upended when Lucy and Jordan suffer a violent attack in their home. Intent on revenge, Paul becomes a vigilante who hunts for the perpetrators and takes down any other criminals he finds along the way.

Since I was seven when the original Bronson film hit screens, it comes as no surprise that I didn’t see it in 1974, but I can’t say why I never took it in over the subsequent 44 years. Of course, I knew much about, as the 1974 Wish remains a cultural touchstone, but for no particular reason, I didn’t watch it.

For better or for worse, this left me as a relative blank slate when I watched the 2018 Wish, for I wouldn’t reflexively compare it to the original. I could judge the remake on its own terms.

While I know Willis serves as one of the few Hollywood stars who supports Trump, I’m unaware of Roth’s politics. However, I do know that he claims Wish isn’t an attempt to tell a pro-gun tale.

If you believe that, you’ll believe anything, as it’s utterly insane to think that Roth didn’t want to send a message with Wish. Essentially a Red State wet dream of a violent fantasy, this movie goes out of its way to sell the need to aggressive self-defense.

Look, I don’t really want to spend a lot of time with political commentary. While I possess strong feelings on these matters, I try to keep my reviews separate from these topics, and I usually succeed.

However, when a movie comes with such a clear political agenda of its own, it becomes darned near impossible to shy away from those subjects. Before long I’ll visit the other side of the aisle with Bowling for Columbine, another film that inevitably brings politics into the discussion.

Because Columbine came out in 2002, it lacks the same current-day charge as Wish, though. While the Michael Moore documentary remains “fresh” due to its exploration of Second Amendment issues – still an exceedingly hot topic – it obviously doesn’t hit on Trump-era domains in the same way.

And make no mistake: Wish couldn’t be more of a “Trump film” even if Paul wore a MAGA hat the whole time. This feels like an exceedingly self-conscious attempt to connect with Trump supporters, as there’s little chance liberals will tolerate the movie’s worldview.

Indeed, Wish goes out of its way to denigrate the left side of the aisle. When we meet Paul, he gets portrayed as something of a coward, one who – gasp! – dares to view all life as sacrosanct, even the “animals” who commit violent crimes.

Of course, this changes and Paul becomes a “man” when he gets himself a pistol and shoots some bad guys. Wish indulges in a seriously fetishistic view of firearms, as Paul’s “training montage” comes accompanied by AC/DC’s “Back In Black” and seems intended to equate “gun user” with “virile heterosexual male”.

The film paints the whole experience in such a glowing manner it seems tough to believe the NRA didn’t bankroll the production. We hear strong messages about the positives of gun ownership with no hints of the negatives, and the use of a perky, sexy blonde as the face of the movie’s firearms store becomes an even more indulgent attempt to add appeal to weaponry.

I wouldn’t mind the film’s absolute lack of subtlety if it went whole hog and turned into a balls-to-the-wall “grindhouse” thrill ride. Death Wish seems ripe for that kind of crazed, over the top telling, one that marries Bronson to Tarantino.

However, Wish prefers to attempt its version of a serious drama, one that thinks it exists in the real world. It doesn’t, of course, but Roth clearly believes he gives us something weighty.

If he did, Wish would work better, but instead, Roth completely ignores the psychological ramifications of Paul’s violent journey. This makes no sense at all.

A man who devoted his entire life to the preservation of human life suddenly becomes a cold killing machine, and he doesn’t encounter even a single second of internal self-doubt? Apparently – Paul flips a switch and the movie never attempts to investigate these topics.

That’s a major failing in a movie that wants to follow a semi-serious path. Like I said, if Wish totally embraced a crazed “B”-movie vibe, I’d not mind the absence of character depth, but it attempts something more meaningful and fails miserably.

Because of this, Wish seems unlikely to satisfy many audiences. Too tame for the grindhouse crowd and too superficial for the drama fans, it does little to nothing right – unless you want to watch a long advertisement for guns, I guess.


The Disc Grades: Picture B+/ Audio B/ Bonus B-

Death Wish appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. I felt satisfied with this appealing presentation.

Sharpness seemed good. Only a little softness appeared in some interior shots, so the movie usually appeared tight and concise.

Jagged edges and shimmering didn’t cause distractions, and edge enhancement seemed to be absent. Source flaws also failed to pop up in this clean transfer.

Orange and teal? Orange and teal! Death Wish used these hues to the exclusion of most else. As tedious as that was, the colors seemed accurately reproduced within the stylistic choices.

Blacks came across as dark and dense, while shadows were well-depicted and smooth. No obvious concerns marred this solid transfer.

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Death Wish worked fairly well, and various action elements offered the most active use of the spectrum. These scenes didn’t emerge on a frequent basis, but when they appeared, they utilized the soundscape in an engrossing manner, and music made active use of the different channels.

Audio quality pleased. Speech was concise and natural, without edginess or other issues.

Music showed good range and vivacity, while effects worked nicely. Those elements came across as accurate and full, with solid low-end response and positive definition. This left us with a “B” soundtrack.

As we move to extras, we open with an audio commentary from director Eli Roth and producer Roger Birnbaum. Both sit together for this running, screen-specific look at story and characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, music, editing, stunts, and related domains.

On the surface, this seems to be a commentary that touches on all the requisite areas, and it does – but only on the surface. The track comes with nearly constant praise for all involved and it avoids deeper issues, so it ends up as a moderately informative but superficial piece.

Four Deleted Scenes run a total of six minutes, 10 seconds. They tend to expand backstory about various supporting characters. They’re not bad but they’re superfluous.

We can view these with or without commentary from Roth and Birnbaum, as they give us some thoughts about the scenes as well as why they got the boot. We find useful notes.

Two packages of Extended Scenes appear: “Mancow Morning Show” (3:39) and “Sway in the Morning” (2:51). These let us hear more from the “Greek chorus” characters found in the movie. We found enough of them in the final cut, so these clips don’t add much.

Vengeance and Vision: Directing Death Wish lasts 11 minutes, 44 seconds and provides info from Roth, Birnbaum and actor Bruce Willis. We get thoughts about story and characters as well as themes, cast and performances, sets, and connected areas. Much of this same material appeared in the commentary, so “Vision” lacks a lot of new insight.

The disc opens with an ad for Red Sparrow. Sneak Peek adds promos for The Handmaid’s Tale and The Belko Experiment, and we get two trailers for Wish as well.

A second disc offers a DVD copy of Wish. It includes the same extras as the Blu-ray.

A feverish fantasy for the Trump era, 2018’s Death Wish lacks substance. Neither crazed enough to entertain as a manic grindhouse effort nor deep enough to become a solid psychological thriller, the end result fails to satisfy. The Blu-ray offers very good picture and audio along with a decent set of supplements. Death Wish offers nothing more than a long – and offensive - commercial for firearms.

Viewer Film Ratings: 2.6363 Stars Number of Votes: 11
15:
14:
4 3:
32:
21:
View Averages for all rated titles.

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