Death Wish II

Director:

Michael Winner

Writers:

David Engelbach, Brian Garfield (characters)

Stars:

Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Vincent Gardenia

Storyline

Paul Kersey, the vigilante, now lives in LA with his daughter, who is still recovering from her attack. He also has a new woman in his life. one day while with them, Kersey is mugged by some punks, Kersey fights back, but they get away. The leader, wanting to get back at Kersey, goes to his house, but Kersey and his daughter Carol are not there. The muggers rape his housekeeper, and when Kersey and his daughter arrive, they knock him out and kidnap her. After they assault her, she leaps out of a window to her death. Kersey then grabs his gun and goes after them. When the LA authorities, deduce they have a vigilante, they decide to consult with New York, who had their vigilante problem. Now the New York officials, knowing that Kersey lives in LA, fears that he's back to his old habit. Fearing that Kersey, when caught will reveal that they let him go instead of prosecuting him send Inspector Ochoa to make sure that doesn't happen.

User Reviews

 

"Do you believe in Jesus?"

27 September 2003 | by Renaldo Matlin (Oslo, Norway) – See all my reviews

"Yes," says the crying thug, knowing his last breathing second on this planet has come. Bronson replies: "Now you'll get to meet him," and blows a hole in his chest! This scene found me laughing in disbelief, shocked and horrified over what the Paul Kersey-character has become, and at the same time impressed that somebody actually dared to make this stuff more than 20 years ago, and even starring one of the biggest movie-stars in the world!

This once bleedin' heart liberal family man has for sure turned into a messenger of death, with about as much mercy for the criminals as a hungry stray cat has for a limp mouse! It's shocking to watch, but at the same time fascinating because the whole movie looks great, the atmosphere gets under your skin, and you still find yourself rooting for Bronson's character.

This is still the best of the "Death Wish"-sequels, and it still packs a wallop and manages to stir controversy even today. It's a movie you will either like or hate, there is no middle road here, and it makes for a great conversation piece.

One final note: this movie sure is a reminder and evidence that when it came to movie tough-guys Charles Bronson WAS the baddest of them all. After the sad news of Bronson's passing a lot of people say he was second behind Clint Eastwood as far as action icons go. I'm a huge Eastwood-fan but Bronson still beats him any day. It really hit me as I was watching this movie. Bronson is driving through down-town Los Angeles, after brutally executing the thug in the above mentioned scene, he passes a movie-theater and sees a guy pretending to be a cowboy outside the theater, and what is the double-billing at the theater? Those silly comedies with Clint Eastwood and that big monkey Clyde!

That kinda' sums it up doesn't it?

Charles Bronson was THE MAN.