Death Wish II [Blu-ray]

Kersey moves to L. A.
Death Wish II DVD

By 1982, crime rates were still high enough to warrant another "Death Wish" film. Enter "Death Wish 2," a picture that finds New York City vigilante Paul Kersey pulling up roots from the place of his first exile (Chicago) in order to head to sunnier digs in Southern California. Los Angeles provides our architect with a new outlook on life, a place where he can tend to his still mentally and physically damaged daughter Carol (Robin Sherwood in this outing) and his new girlfriend Geri Nichols (Jill Ireland). In fact, Paul and Geri hope to wed one day. Unfortunately, a curse falls on the House of Kersey when a crew of mangy vermin, the most important member being Cutter (Laurence Fishburne), invades our hero's bungalow. The gang brutalizes Kersey's maid Rosario and abducts the shattered Carol. In the process of submitting Paul's daughter to an indignity nearly identical to the horrors she suffered in the first film, the poor young lady takes her life by...

the DVD is a cut version
This is the worst movie in the Death Wish series, without the relevance of the first movie or the sheer stupid-but-highly-entertaining mayhem of Part 3. Mostly, this film shot itself in the foot by going overboard on the rape scenes. But, to see exactly *how* overboard they went, you'll have to dig up an old version, because what's on the DVD is missing about 5 minutes. I haven't watched the entire DVD yet, but I noticed some things missing around the beginning and so I went back and checked the ancient videotape I made of a Cinemax showing years and years ago, and the running time on that was 94 minutes and 40 seconds (according to my VCR's counter, anyhow). The DVD clocks in at about 89 minutes.

I'm usually strongly against anything being cut out of a movie, but considering that at least some of the stuff that's missing from this DVD consists of parts of the extremely repulsive and protracted rape scene at the beginning of the movie, I don't really mind so much, because I...

Character Development
REASONS TO BUY:
Unlike the first part, Bronson has a strong unyielding character. He's not the least bit afraid to get the job done this time and doesn't stop untill he gets every single on of those creeps that killed his daughter. It really gives you a sense of staisfaction even if it's just a movie.

REASONS NOT TO BUY:
This is the cut version. Evidently, some people believe that we are not intelligent enough to view certain scenes. I think it's worth the time to search the internet for the full uncut version.

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Death Wish 4: The Crackdown [Blu-ray]

Kill 'em all, Kersey!
A discussion of Charles Bronson that fails to mention the "Death Wish" series isn't really a discussion at all. The first entry in this seminal series arrived on the scene in 1974 during a period in American history when all types of crimes skyrocketed. We can thank the moral laxity inflicted on the rest of us by the Counterculture for the increased numbers of murders, arsons, burglaries, robberies, rapes, and countless other forms of physical and mental assaults that soon became common occurrences on every street in the country. A large percentage of the population, referred to by Nixon as "The Silent Majority," ached to find a way to fight back against the vermin committing these atrocities. Since our embrace of vigilante justice faded away due to the abuses of lynching in the South, and our legal system began letting the scum back out on the streets, only Hollywood seemed to offer refuge to the growing number of victims. Enter the revenge and vigilante genre, the most notable...

vigilanties "r" us
i can't understand why the reviewers of Bronson films think it necessary to trash the people who actually like to watch Bronson. you know, i love his movies because they say a lot of things i wish i could do in real life. everyone wants to get rid of people they hate and since killing is illegal and i have a rational mind, i can watch Bronson films and get out my anger at somebody through his mass killings of street scum and corrupt public officials. i don't see the harm in the genre of films Charles chose to link himself with. Death Wish and all it's sequels are designed strictly for that kind of audience that gets thrilled and excited watching someone do things that can't be done in real life without suffering the consequences. Charles' character never goes to prison or is never seriosuly pursued by the police...BECAUSE Bronson is doing what the POLICE wish they could do to crooks and the PUBLIC loves what Bronson's character is doing. that's the message that his mid '70s to mid...

great fun
Right off the bat I just want to say that this is a unrealistic action movie and should be viewed as such. On the unrealistic action movie scale I give it a 4 if only because I thought some of the other Death Wish movies were a slightly more fun, but this is classic. When a would be rapists asks Kersey who he is we get the classic line: "Death"! Paul Kersey is just too cool!If you have never seen the Death Wish movies you are in for a treat. These movies are in a league of their own and this time around, Kersey is gunning for high powered drug dealers and he now has an arsenal stored behind his refrigerator! Leave your rational mind out of it and have fun with Death Wish 4.

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