Death Sentence (2007)

Directed by James Wan. Starring Kevin Bacon, Garrett Hedlund, Aisha Tyler, John Goodman, Kelly Preston, Matt O’Leary, Stuart Lafferty, Jordan Garrett, Leigh Whannell. [R]

Another Death Wish clone (it’s even loosely based on Brian Garfield’s same-named novel, the followup to his “Death Wish”) with Bacon’s mild-mannered businessman losing it and embarking on a quest for vengeance after a vicious young punk (O’Leary) kills his son. Grimly efficient but pandering to bloodthirsty crowds who’ll gladly overlook the vigilantism-is-never-the-answer subtext, but to be fair, it is easy to overlook when director Wan proves to be far more interested in splattered viscera than heartsick souls. As usual for these sorts of pictures, the hero’s transition into cold-blooded killing machine is too far-fetched to swallow (he needs to consult manuals while clumsily inspecting the firearms he just illegally purchased, but is shown in no time at all to be a crack-shot who can absorb blows and noise like a Schwarzenegger type). Well-made, as these kinds of pictures go, and Hedlund makes for an especially repellent villain, but it’s simply too single-minded and gratuitous to work on any logical or artistic level. As a greasy, pitiless gun dealer, Goodman delivers a rare weak characterization—just a bucket of bile, sadism, and overwrought vocal mannerisms.

51/100