User Reviews

There's only one thing better than watching "Death Wish 3", and that's heading on over to IMDb to read the viewer comments about the picture. Seriously, I have never read about a picture before where the lovers and haters of a film all appear to be on the same page in their rabid appreciation for it. You can add me to the list, this was one epic flick. I think this might be the one picture Charles Bronson made just to see if he could get away with it (although I haven't seen 4 or 5 yet), but if I'm wrong I'll be glad to amend my comments later.

You really have to catch this picture to get a flavor of all the mindless, violent nastiness going on. The anti-tank grenade launcher that blows Fraker (Gavan O'Herlihy) into bite size pieces was quite special, but I think my favorite was the brain buster spring trap Paul Kersey (Bronson) rigged up in his apartment. All this with the full knowledge, support and go-ahead of the local police chief Shriker (Ed Lauter).

And you know what the topper is? The music score for the picture was put together by Jimmy Page!!! You know, the 'Stairway to Heaven'/'Whole Lotta Love' guy who rocked it with Led Zeppelin, which now that I think about it, how come there was no zeppelin in this picture? All I can think of, this was one time Page might have really been 'Dazed and Confused'.

It seems like every time Michael Winner was tasked with directing a Death Wish he had to one up the last one in some sort of crazy fashion. This one has Bronson once again going back to the big apple (played in England because filming in NYC is expensive). His friend he is there to visit is murdered and before you know it he's thrown right back into his old vigilante ways, except this time Bronson has a deal made with the police? All kinds of entertaining stuff follows, punks die, elderly people die, Bronson sets up some MacGyver traps, there's some more rape though not as graphic as in the last film, Bronson orders in a new hand gun that comes with some cool Dirty Harry style sound effects, and there's also another worthless love interest that bites the dust before you can blink an eye. In the end Bronson is turned into Rambo as he runs threw the streets machine gunning punks into oblivion, and killing the leader with a rocket launcher. Much of the Jimmy Page soundtrack from the last film seems to be reused here. Overall, Death Wish 3 is definitely a product of it's time a big dumb action movie that entertains from beginning to end.

The second sequel to Death Wish sees Paul Kersey return once again to New York to visit his friend, who is killed shortly before Kersey arrives. Once Kersey gets there and sees what happens he swings into action once again.

Is this meant to be a parody of what had gone before, or did Michael Winner just get carried away? There are so many OTT things here, including Kersey's ability to beat everyone he meets in a fight, no matter what their size. Another is the face paint the baddies wear, as if to say ,"Yep, in case you didn't realise, I'm a criminal". You also have Fraker looking weirder than a Martian, his ability to summon gangsters from anywhere and of course his eventual demise with a rocket launcher.

Despite, or perhaps because of this, it is hugely enjoyable, very entertaining and zips by very quickly. For once, Kersey is not on his own, and I particularly enjoyed when it showed the locals getting tooled up ready to fight back.

Recommended.

This is how subtle Death Wish 3 is: there's a bit where the stupid chief stamps on a cockroach. That kind of says it all really. Why bother with laws, why bother with a constitution and why bother with a police force – they only get in the way. What you really need to keep the streets safe is a big gun…and lots of bullets…and maybe a machine gun… and perhaps a rocket launcher too. Because, hey, if those liberal pinkos have their way there will only be anarchy.

Paul Kersey's day starts off really badly. Not only do synthesisers, weeping saxophones, twangy guitars and a smarmy piano accompany his trip to New York, but by the time he gets there his best mate has been killed. How unlucky can you get? Well, to make matters worse, one of the people that kills his best mate is Bill S. Preston, Esq. Oh, and when he gets there, just as his friend is dying in his arms, he gets arrested for his murder. Damn. But then, after getting beaten up by the police, ramming a fat porker's bulbous head through prison bars and enraging the head of a local gang, he gets unofficial approval from the stupid chief to go on a one man killing rampage…which is nice.

Death Wish 3 is a guilty pleasure. After all, it's dumb, it's fascistic and it's badly filmed, but a number of people greater than the population of San Marino get brutally killed, so it rules. I mean, how can you not dig a film where people are set on fire, thrown off buildings and shot at point blank range with a rocket launcher? Anyone with a penis should enjoy this. So if you don't like it, you're probably either a woman or Dale Winton.

Where do I start when it comes to the best death in Death Wish 3? The rocket launcher killing is a classic, but the firebombing is probably even better – the punks firebomb the flat of an elderly couple and they come running out, in flames, and then get mowed down with Uzis. But then there's death by broom and all the machine gun slayings. However, I also dig the bit when a bunch of bikers, in leather daddy gear, get blasted to pieces by a bunch of disgruntled neighbourhood residents. An armed society is a polite society.

But this praise for other characters takes away from the Bronsoninator's contribution. Never before has one man killed so many people. He mows down punks with his mate's Browning and then he blows them away with his unfeasibly huge Magnum – normally I'd suggest that Bronson was making up for certain shortcomings, but there's no way the man wasn't hung. And it's his Magnum technique that impresses most. He can dodge a hail of bullets simply by slowly crouching down on one knee. Genius! And then there are the people he kills. One man, who's trying to rape a black woman, is the spitting image of Freddie Mercury. Another, who he throws off a roof, is Frost out of Aliens. And he even kills The Giggler! "They killed The Giggler, man! They killed The Giggler!" But perhaps the best Bronson killing is the one where he coolly kills a couple of punks who are trying to nick his car. At the time he's having dinner with a Jewish couple, but he politely excuses himself, shoots the punks and finishes his grub. What a gentleman.

But it's not all fun and games. Bronson's lady gets killed. But the woman should have known better. Any woman that gets close to the Bronsoninator is immediately doomed. It's the James Bond rule. I mean, we can't have our bloodthirsty heroes suddenly become happy and content, can we? So she has to die. And at least she goes out in style. She gets a headbutt for her troubles and then succumbs in a car crash. Of course, just in case she might survive, the car spontaneously blows up. You've got to make sure.

Not that any of this seems to bother Bronson. He merely goes along with his bloodthirsty rampage, squinting at the targets he's going to blow into bloody pieces. And what of his targets? Well, the gang he takes on is isn't especially formidable. In fact, they're rather camp. They wear bandanas, headbands, string vests, fingerless gloves, sleeveless shirts, leather jackets, chain belts, lots of studs and one even wears a cute little cut off vest so that he can show off his rock hard abs. Actually, now that I think about it, they dress and prance like a bunch of failed Fame auditionees. Perhaps that's why they're so mad. They just want to be in a chorus line but they can't get a gig. Maybe that's why they kidnap, rape and kill the Mexican lady. They want to get their own back on any tang they can get their hands on. The way they emerge from their hiding place – the bushes, of course – certainly suggests this. They leap out like coked-up ballerinas. But they all get brutally killed, so their Broadway ambitions go unfulfilled.

But hey, who cares about the punks? Not I. Indeed, Death Wish 3 has made me see the light. All we need to keep the streets safe are viscous vigilantes, dispensing their wonderful brand of arbitrary justice. Only then will we be free from the tyranny of punks, hoods and lowlifes. I never knew that a Jewish food critic could be so delightfully fascist.

I have to agree with with many other commentators on this site that this is one one those "so bad that it's good" movies. Wooden acting, unbelievable dialog, unbelievable amounts of violence, two pairs of bare titties (by my account), all presented by Golan and Globus, the B-movie schlockmeisters behind the Cannon Films Group of the 1980s.

The tone for this film is set just a few minutes in, when NYC cop Ed Lauter punches a seated and handcuffed Bronson in the the face because Bronson asked a question about his Constitutional rights. "I'm the law! That means I get to violate your Constitutional rights!" Lauter exclaims. From his position on the floor, Bronson kicks Lauter in the nuts.

This doesn't suit Lauter well, so he tosses Bronson into a cell, without formally arresting or changing him with a crime. In the cell, Bronson is challenged by a small, break dancing black prisoner, who asks if he is "looking for trouble?" Bronson passes him by, so the small black man punches a much larger, muscular black man in the stomach for no apparent reason. The larger black man punches back, decking the smaller guy. As the smaller guy lays screaming on the floor, he shouts "you f*cker!" at Bronson. You might want to pause the film at this point for a laugh break. I know I did.

Another few personal favorites: • the buff gay black guy in the cut-off tank top who got killed once or twice, but still kept coming back • first exposition of the Wildey handgun, basically the most powerful handgun on Earth. NRA porn. Even I wanted one, and I don't like guns. • the uniform cops who, in a neighborhood exploding with gang violence, bully an elderly Jewish couple into surrendering their handgun • the pretty pro bono attorney Bronson f*cks and then apparently has no emotional attachment to when she dies in a fiery vehicle crash (are there any other kind in Hollywood movies) minutes later • Riot police or National Guard not appearing as an urban neighborhood descends into chaos • Ed Lauter joining Bronson towards the end in a final all-laws-are-suspended fight at the OK corral kind of confrontation with the bad guys

This simply wondrous work of pure celluloid art deserves much better than the usual synopsis and critique format. So instead I'm just going to list reasons why this picture rules. 1) Charles Bronson as the ever-unflappable Paul Kersey is the very epitome of stoic, laconic and unflappable vigilante cool; this guy not only kills countless low-life criminal scum with a winning mix of style and ingenuity, but also sports one hell of a snazzy mustache to boot. 2) The street gang featured in this flick is a pretty mean and colorful bunch: Gavan O'Herlithy as vicious leader Fraker (you just have to love his gnarly reverse Mohawk haircut), a pre-"Bill and Ted" Alex Winter as the sleazy Hermosa, Ricco Ross as speed-snorting psycho Cuban, and, best of all, the incredible Kirk Taylor as swift, maniacal, chortling klepto the Giggler. Moreover, the gang is multi-racial, which enables the filmmakers to treat us to the touching and inspiring sight of various whites, blacks and Hispanics gleefully engaging in rape, murder, robbery, extortion, destruction of private property, and other such no-count nasty antics. 3) The dialogue is sheer cut-to-the-bone terse and eloquent poetry. Martin Balsam as tough World War II veteran Bennett Cross bellows the following heart-shattering lines as he watches his beloved place of business go down in flames: "My shop! My shop! That's my shop!" 4) Deborah Raffin as feisty public defender Kathryn Davis supplies some mighty fetching eye candy. Alas, after Raffin becomes romantically involved with Bronson the poor gal gets bumped off by the bad guys. Boy, now isn't that a shocking and unexpected plot development?

5) This no-holds-barred fierce and unflinching flick declares open season on everyone: pretty young women are raped (including foxy future "Star Trek: The Next Generation" TV series regular Marina Sirtis), little old ladies are brutally butchered, countless evil street slime are blown away, folks are set on fire, and Fraker even gets blasted into the next dimension with a rocket launcher. If raw, savage and over-the-top violence is your thing, then this movie is your crack, baby! 6) The acting is truly Oscar-worthy. Special kudos here to Joseph Gonzalez as Rodriguez; the scene with Gonzalez punching a table with tremendous angst and fury after he's told that his wife has just died is positively gut-wrenching in its stark poignancy. 7) Bronson packs plenty of heavy artillery. Besides the aforementioned rocket launcher, Charlie also uses a Wildey automatic and a vintage Browning machine gun to waste the villains left and right. 8) Legendary rock musician Jimmy Page whips up an exceptionally funky-jammin' jazz-rock fusion score. 8) Director Michael Winner treats the laughably ludicrous material with deliriously misguided seriousness, thereby ensuring that the cartoonish carnage rates as often sidesplitting and always entertaining high camp at its all-time most gloriously absurd and wildly implausible. The last third with the already cruddy urban cesspool neighborhood degenerating into an all-out war zone is the hilarious stuff total kitsch is made of. A true 80's action masterpiece.

By the time the third Death Wish movie came out in 1985, a basic formula was in place which varied little from the second Death Wish movie onward. First, Charles Bronson's character, Paul Kersey, would have a relative or close friend murdered by street scum. Further mayhem would befall ancillary characters so as to goad Kersey into a righteous killing frenzy. One significant variation that this formula allowed is that in each succeeding movie the weaponry Kersey will use to blow away assorted miscreants will get more and more elaborate. From the hand pistol Kersey used in the first Death Wish movie, we now get enormous elephantine hand guns that could actually kill a real elephant as well WWII Browning machine guns as well as grenade launchers by the third film. Also, the criminals Kersey is up against aren't just assorted street punks as in the first Death Wish film but now a criminal army with enough firepower to take on the Iraqi insurgents in Baghdad.

What is truly striking in the last 30 minutes of the movie is that with the mayhem going on, the government didn't force the issue and send in the US Army to restore order as the Union Army did do in New York during the Draft Riots of 1863 while the Civil War was going on. Another priceless moment in the film is the ease with which Kersey is able to receive serious ordinance through the US mail. If it really was as easy as shown in the film, Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations really missed an opportunity in arming themselves in the US.

Like I said, the film defines improbable to extremely unlikely. It's a revenge fantasy of truly baroque extremes and frankly enjoyable on that level. In the Death Wish world, there is no moral ambiguity. There are good decent people and then there are street scum. Here, the street scum harass, maim and kill the decent and the police are oddly helpless. Even though the criminals are dressed so garishly and distinctively from the characters who are good and decent, no one seems able to obtain any evidence against them. So, the only solution is just to shoot them dead. It's nice that the criminals in these films are all unredeemable psychopaths who dress quite distinctively so even a child could kill them with a clear conscience(as a few do in one of the many disturbing scenes at the end during the big shoot-out). In sum, not total trash, not really good, fascistic in a really simple-minded way (for a more complex pro-fascistic perspective, I recommend viewing the Depression political fantasy film, Gabriel over the White House, from 1933) that doesn't go beyond offering shooting street scum like turkeys as a way to solve crime but undeniably exciting.

Paul Kersey, the vigilante, returns to New York to visit a friend. But when he arrives he finds his friend dead, and the police enter and find him standing over the body holding a gun.

At the station a police lieutenant recognises him as the vigilante, and releases to go after the gang that killed his friend, who are led by the deadly Manny Fraker.

So Kersey moves into his friend's apartment and along with his friend's friend, Bennett, they try to get the gang and help the neighbours who are being plagued by Fraker and his gang...

Kersey has to be the most unluckiest man in the world. Whenever he meets a woman, they buy it. he's so unlucky that he's now used to it, and forgets about the whole thing in the next scene.

Which is what most characters do in the film. Whenever something bad happens to them, within minutes they are back to their normal selfs and not giving a hoot.

Which is why i love this film. I t has no meaning whatsoever, apart from the fact for Winner to make another movie where we see Bronson running around like a man half his age killing hoodlums.

But the people in this town are actually enjoying the fact that since Kersey has appeared, violence has gone up. In fact, during the long action packed finale, you can see townsfolk smiling at the carnage and whooping Kersey on.

But like I said, any film where it shows you a man load a gun with three bullets and then fire five, is okay by me.

This film knows it's not serious, and by a company such a Cannon. You know what to expect.

Dead people who still scream when falling. Bronson missing the first shot almost every time. the funniest stunt wig in the movie.

And you know that the rocket launcher bought from the shop will be saved for the chief bad guy.

Exceptional eighties cheese.