Death Wish II (1982)

Directed by Michael Winner. Starring Charles Bronson, Vincent Gardenia, Jill Ireland, Ben Frank, J.D. Cannon, Anthony Franciosa, Michael Prince, Paul Comi, Thomas F. Duffy, Laurence Fishburne, Robin Sherwood. [R]

Sorry sequel to the vengeful vigilante opus re-teams director Winner with stars Bronson and Gardenia, but none of them seem particularly inspired by this material. Bronson’s daughter and housekeeper are both brutally assaulted by a gang of repellent hoods, sending him back out onto the streets to dole out fatal justice. Pretty repugnant stuff; even though it gives Bronson more relatable motivation (instead of targeting any and all evildoers, he tracks down the thugs one-by-one who were responsible for the attack on his family), it negates the dire sickness suggested in the first film and turns him into a purely cold-blooded killer. Don’t expect to find much to ponder on the scales of morality—by the end, the filmmakers are all in on bloodshed for the betterment of society. Entertainment value is minimal even for those aligned with its ugly attitude, and poor direction, uneven pacing, and wooden performances seal the disastrous deal. Bears no resemblance to “Death Sentence,” the Brian Garfield sequel novel that followed his original “Death Wish.”

12/100