Death Wish 3 (1985)

I know that Michael Winner got his start making comedies, then turned to making blunt and chilling action movies such as The Stone Killer, The Mechanic and the first Death Wish. However Death Wish 3 is so over the top that I have to wonder if Winner wasn't winking at the audience and one or two scenes seem to be making some kind of satirical statement about this kind of entertainment catharsis. Paul Kersey returns to New York City to visit an old war buddy, but finds his friend dying from a beating given by the local thugs. Kersey is arrested and, while in the local jail, has a run in with the gang leader, a psychotic named Fraker (played with just the right amount of swagger by Gavan O'Herlihy). The police chief (Ed Lauter) is so frustrated with Fraker's gang running (and ruining) the neighborhood that he releases Kersey and wishes him happy shooting. "You're turning me loose?" Kersey asks. "I'm turning you loose." The cop replies. What follows is a series of action set pieces that build to a riot in a payback hungry world gone mad. As many others have noted, this movie is utterly over the top and quite laughter inducing. I cannot tell if it is truly meant to be a subtle parody of Death Wish/urban warfare movies or if it is so stupid that it just plays that way. Did Michael Winner not do his job, or did he do it too well? Watch, enjoy, and decide for yourself. Highly recommended and an essential for both Bronson and/or bad movie fans everywhere.

DEATH WISH 3 is, for its time, an extremely violent movie. Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) is a seemingly placid soul who goes about killing several hundred thugs and crooks in 1980's NYC. The "plot" finds Kersey returning to NYC where he visits an old war buddy, whom Kersey finds dying on his apartment floor, a victim of intruding gangs. Having lost his friend, Kersey decides to move into his buddy's old apartment and take up a war against the gangs overrunning the neighborhood. I wouldn't even say this is a tale of revenge, because you never get the sense that Kersey gives a damn about his friend's death. It's basically an invitation to kill, something Kersey accepts when a police commissioner asks for "help" in thinning out the criminal herds.

Kersey, a character born from the "silent majority" of the Nixon Era, has no character arc, no narrative, no place to go where he will eventually find peace. This movie is a showcase for violence-funny, absurd, over-the-top violence. Whether on purpose or not, there are several classic moments that make this movie worthwhile. And Bronson's deadpan delivery makes his sparse dialogue memorable. This is crude, terrible filmmaking that I greatly enjoyed to the very end.

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... for messing up such a great movie! Movies like this one need special treatment. Putting this out in fullscreen is like giving it no attention at all. It's a shame because today even ultra-low budget films are being properly remastered for DVD releases. It seems that MGM does not realise at all the cult status of this movieI mean there are countless people out there who have been waiting for a decent release of this movie. I don't consider this an upgrade to my old, fullscreen VHS so I won't be buying it.

As for the movie itself... no words could possibly describe it. It just reaches perfection.

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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 entries of which consisted of the Clint Eastwood "Dirty Harry" pictures. In these films, a cop or outraged citizen would hunt down criminals outside the law, meting out a savage brand of justice we could all cheer about. Enter the "Death Wish" franchise.

The sequel to the first film, 1982's "Death Wish 2," apparently earned enough money that the folks at Cannon followed up with a third entry. B-movie fans will give thanks for this decision for centuries to come because "Death Wish 3" is one of the greatest schlock action films ever made. Paul Kersey (Bronson), apparently finding some time between losing family members, decides to visit an old war buddy named Charley who just happens to live in a slum that resembles in no small way Beirut at the height of its civil war. Unfortunately, a gang of vicious killers led by the nightmarish Fraker (Gavan O'Herlihy) runs the neighborhood, and they deliver a savage beating to Charley mere minutes before Kersey arrives. To say Charley doesn't pull through because of his injuries shouldn't be necessary. Unnecessary to say too is that Kersey is about to go on another rampage. He teams up with several of his late friend's neighbors, including an elderly Jewish couple, a Hispanic couple (Marina Sirtis plays the woman!), and Bennett (Martin Balsam) to throw back the forces of darkness. Fortunately for Kersey, the local cops are sick of all the gang activity, so precinct chief Shriker (Ed Lauter) gives our hero free reign to murder and mutilate at random. An overworked public defender by the name of Kathryn Davis (Deborah Raffin) serves as Kersey's potential love interest.

Kersey sets up little tricks to bait the gang. He buys a car and purposefully places it outside to draw thieves. When he hears the windows breaking, he goes outside and guns them down. Paul also helps out his neighbors by placing traps underneath windows that puncture feet and knock out teeth. His biggest contribution to neighborhood safety comes when he and his buddy Wildey (watch and see) put a guffawing mugger by the name of Giggler out of business for good. Fraker attempts to crack down on the neighborhood by killing a few of the residents, blowing up Bennett's small business, and trying to assassinate Kersey. Nothing works, however, so Fraker calls in reinforcements in the shape of a biker gang. All heck breaks out as the neighborhood turns into a war zone. Kersey jogs around the streets toting a machine gun Charley kept hidden for just such an occasion. The cops join in the fun too, but aren't nearly as successful until Shriker joins Kersey for a series of scenes that resemble an arcade shooting game. Oh, I can't forget about the neighbors; they all grab weapons and head out to kick some serious you know what. The violence in the last part of "Death Wish 3" is so over the top as to defy description. Bodies topple off of buildings, people run around on fire shrieking at the top of their lungs, and explosions rock the neighborhood.

A short review simply doesn't do this film justice. It's so ridiculous in every aspect that one could write a book about it. It's also, however, stupendously entertaining. I howl at the top of my lungs every time I see the scene where Fraker calls for help. He says something along the lines of "Hey, this is Mandy Fraker. I'm going to need some guys up here." MANDY? His name is MANDY Fraker? What are the names of his top lieutenants, Murray and Maurice? Oh man! Another gut buster is what happens to Kathryn Davis. In true "Death Wish" form, the plot requires her to perish horribly just as she and Paul strike up a relationship. Never mind the fact that the Davis character is young enough to be Kersey's granddaughter. It feels like the filmmakers just threw this subplot in because someone recalled that Kersey lost important females in his life in the previous two pictures. But the best part of the film occurs when we see the gang members sitting around after the demise of the Giggler. One of them says with all the gravitas of a Royal Shakespearean actor, "They killed the Giggler, man. THEY KILLED THE GIGGLER!" This is the most brilliant piece of dialogue I've ever heard in a B-movie.

The only extra on the disc is a trailer, and the transfer is only fullscreen, but it's enough to have this classic on DVD. By far the most entertaining entry in the "Death Wish" series, Bronson followed "Death Wish 3" with another one in the eighties and one in the nineties before the series finally folded. Charles Bronson passed away in 2003, perhaps never fully knowing his importance to the low budget action potboiler genre. Those of us who love the "Death Wish" films can only rewatch them and dream...

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"This time it's war" is the slogan for Death Wish 4, but I think that would really apply to this one. When you hit the last twenty mintues or so of this film, it does turn to all out war! This has got to be the most blown-out-of-proportion sequel of all time next to the second Rambo film. Bronson's no longer prowling the streets and taking out punks here and there-This time he literally has an all out war with them! Coming back to NY, he finds his Korean war buddy murdered. This is the catalyst for another bloodbath, but he gets the green light when this "dude" talking cop tells(actually he threatens) Bronson to start up again. The neighborhood is completely overrun by gangs with reversed mohawks. In fact, this neighborhood makes south central LA look like Beverly Hills. But Bronson's in town now! Well, these schmucks should know by now that you don't mess with this man. Bronson goes toe to toe with the gang leader who likes to get "High! High! HIGH!", along with other assorted punks including Bill S. Preston-Esquire from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. By the last act, the neighborhood turns into a war zone between punks and apartment residents. Considering the place looked like a war zone to begin with, the surrounding communities don't seem to take notice. This film is pretty outrageous. It's like a comic book or a video game put on film. It's wild. It also has one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen in a film: Bronson buys a junker car, then parks it in front of his apartment and waits for someone to mess with it. He 's invited to dinner at the neighbor's house, and while eating he hears someone messing with the car. He goes outside and blows away the two guys stripping the car, then just walks back in and sits down to dinner. That is the definitive Bronson moment. So, read all of the reviews here, especially the bad ones, then run out and watch this, pronto! People seem to hate this movie for the same reasons it's so entertaining. Come on, there wasn't supposed to be any kind of message to this film. This is 100% junk food entertainment and should be taken as such. The positive reviews "got it" if you know what I mean.

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