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Death Wish V: The Face of Death

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Death Wish V: The Face of Death (1994)

January. 14,1994
|
4.9
|
R
| Drama Action Crime
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Paul Kersey is back at working vigilante justice when his fiancée, Olivia, has her business threatened by mobsters

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Stevecorp
1994/01/14

Don't listen to the negative reviews

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Lightdeossk
1994/01/15

Captivating movie !

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ShangLuda
1994/01/16

Admirable film.

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Invaderbank
1994/01/17

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

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jasonisageek
1994/01/18

I'll admit, despite my love for the series as I explored them all for the very first time within this past year, I was a little weary going into this one for a number of reasons. First of all, that cover is just awful. It looks like a Made-for-TV movie. It's also not an entry in the decades long franchise that anyone ever mentions. At least, not in my experience. But I needed to finish the franchise, even if I wasn't particularly all that excited about this one.Truthfully, it took a good 30 minutes for me to really get into it. Much like the cover art, it has a very Made-for-TV quality about it. Yet it's not a bad looking film. Writer/director Allan A. Goldstein does give the film an overall nice look, despite the film looking limited to an extent. But still, he's an odd choice for something like this, especially when you look at all the previous entries. Nothing in Goldstein's past filmography would lead you to believe he could deliver a solid Death Wish film. Nothing. My guess is Menaham Golan got him cheap. So I was kind of thrown off with that for a bit, but I'm glad I stuck it through because the film only got better and better as it moved along. In fact, simply based on how the film looked and started right off the bat, I was not at all expecting it to go where it ultimately did in terms of the action and violence.Poor Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson). The guy just cannot catch a break. It doesn't matter where he moves, or how many years have passed since the last catastrophe, he just seems to attract trouble and torment. It's like it's never far behind, always just waiting in the wings for the absolute worst moment to strike, and it always does. Essentially, that's what the Death Wish films feed off of, and it's what makes them the films they are. But seriously, how much can one man take before he loses his mind? Thankfully that hasn't happened yet, and whenever tragedy strikes, Kersey shifts into revenge mode to deliver some vigilante justice, but you'd think that by now he would just stop dating altogether. I mean, every single woman in his life, whether it be a family member or love interest, dies simply because they are a woman in a Death Wish film. That's just the formula Michael Winner began with in the first film, and carried on into the second, and it's a formula the series has continued even going into this one. Now that I think about it, I can't recall a woman close to him dying in Part 3, but I could be wrong. And the kills. Oh the kills! When they finally do come into play, they're pretty spectacular. I'll just leave it at that.The cast is pretty solid, but aside from Bronson returning, the only real standout is the casting of Michael Parks as the main villain, who does a formidable job in the role as a slimy, cantankerous businessman who runs his businesses like the mob. Speaking of casting, Bronson was 72 when he made this, which just blows my mind. The guy doesn't look a day over 60 and age has not slowed him down one bit.So the film itself turned out to be a lot better than I anticipated. It takes a bit to get used to it's particular TV atmosphere, but that doesn't really last long because soon enough, it begins to slowly resemble the kind of film you were looking forward to right from the start. There's really nothing about the story that set's it apart from any of the other previous entries; the woman he loves is killed, so he goes out for revenge. Same ol' story. Though it has a lower body count than most of the other films, it's the way and manner that these sorry sons of bitches are killed that kind of blew me away. There may be less killing, but it's pretty brutal all the same. I also have to give credit to Allan A. Goldstein, the director. When the action kicked in, the film took on a whole new life and it was awesome. Whether it be a chase, shootout, fist fight or execution, the film kind of shifts gears and I kind of wish there was more violence because the film was so much better when there was. I really dig it. It's almost as if the film was directed by 2 different people, and for all I know, maybe the 2nd unit or assistant director's had something to do with that. In either case, you can bet your ass that when it comes to the "revenge" aspect to the film, Death Wish V: The Face of Death does in fact deliver the goods in a big way.Despite all my praises, because it is indeed a highly enjoyable film and better than I was expecting, it doesn't come off as one of the best in the series. In fact, taking into consideration that they're all pretty great each in their own very specific way, this would easily be the weakest in the series. But rest assured, that doesn't make it a bad film in any way. If there's anything Death Wish V proves, it's that it has a lot of things stacked against it right from the get-go, yet ultimately prevails despite it's numerous obstacles. It caught me off guard in a good way, and while it might not be the best entry in the franchise, it's vastly superior to a lot of the paint-by-numbers copycats that were prominent in this genre on both the big and little screen. It's a great film, you just have to give it a chance.www.robotGEEKSCultCinema.blogspot.com

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SnoopyStyle
1994/01/19

Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) is in witness protection working as an architecture professor. He's dating New York fashion designer Olivia Regent (Lesley-Anne Down). The problem is that her gangster ex-husband Tommy O'Shea (Michael Parks) and father of her daughter Chelsea has pushed his way into her garment business. Tommy sends Flakes (Robert Joy) to attack her. Paul goes to DA Brian Hoyle (Saul Rubinek) for help. Police Lt. Vasquez has been trying to put away Tommy for 16 years. Tommy starts killing Olivia's workers who were cooperating with the police and the cops themselves. He kills Olivia and takes custody of Chelsea. Paul has no choice but to take on the mobster his way.The story is not bad. There are some very good actors. Michael Parks is always a good villain. However, the franchise is tired and old. The grittiness has been replaced with cheesiness. Trying to do high fashion looks silly. The biggest problem may be doing the Toronto for New York bit. It simply devalues the reality of this world. It's also a little repetitive for his girlfriends to always have problems. Charles Bronson does what he does best but there is nothing new left. Also the ending is abrupt as if they ran out of money.

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AaronCapenBanner
1994/01/20

Charles Bronson is back for the last time as vigilante Paul Kersey. Many years after Part IV, Paul Kersey is now living in the witness protection program(for undisclosed reasons) whose girlfriend(Lesley -Anne Down) is the ex-wife of a powerful mobster, who wants sole custody of their daughter, and retaliates against her, while at the same time trying to expand his empire in New York. Kersey must come out of retirement, and become the famous vigilante again.Charles Bronson is still remarkably game for his age, though looks bored in the film, which, despite some potential, is just tired and uninspired, though Michael Parks is good as the mob leader. Poorly directed , and filmed cheaply, sequel will be an unsatisfying end to the series, though Paul Kersey's last line to a policeman is good, and a nice coda for the character. Charles Bronson's last theatrical film.

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Scarecrow-88
1994/01/21

This time Leslie Anne Down receives a death sentence by becoming involved romantically with architect professor Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson, more than a bit long in the tooth by this point; it was 1994, not 1983 any longer). Down is a fashion designer,named Olivia, once married to Michael Parks' ruthless criminal kingpin. Parks is Tommy O'Shea, his corrupt tentacles spreading throughout all of LA, from prostitution to drugs. He will not allow Olivia to become successful, not too happy that she gained full custody of their daughter. Tommy has Robert Joy's sadistic Freddie do his dirty work, eventually shooting Olivia in the back, with an attempt on Kersey's life as well. No surprise regarding Olivia's fate if you are familiar with the Death Wish franchise. Not to be denied, Olivia not only is shot in the back while trying to escape through a fire escape (after her face was smashed into a mirror by Freddie in drag in a restaurant women's restroom), but she plummets off the roof in slow motion to the top of a another apartment. Look, even by Part 5, the Death Wish series wasn't about to let the women off lightly; particularly, the women in Kersey's life. So Tommy will go after custody of his daughter, Chelsea, despite the fact that he sent Freddie to take out his ex-wife. Kenneth Welsh's exhausted detective loses a partner and witnesses who could finger Tommy for money laundering. So anyone involved with taking Tommy down through the law wind up on the losing end…option B is open and that consists of Kersey going Grandpa Vigilante. Parks' ass is grass. Look, Parks can play the scumbag with such comfort and ease; if you don't want him dead by the time Kersey gets his gun from the safe, then you're a sociopath. That's the whole point of this movie. The criminals are so loathsome and brutish, with a ringleader totally coldblooded and absent a conscience, that Kersey's revenge seems justified. Dwelling on how Kersey rids us of these cretins is of little consequence when Parks has his men use cars as battering rams, a pressing machine to torture, a sewing machine to cut into a stomach, and guns to shoot people in the back. Worse yet, Parks does in fact get custody of his daughter (much to her dismay and disgust), and turns Olivia's fashion company into a tawdry lingerie line. Oh, and there's a supposed friend of Kersey's who is actually dirty and taking money from Tommy to rid the crimelord of the vigilante nuisance. It is all about stacking the deck, of course. How on earth will Kersey not only get vengeance but escape all these people out to get him? Well, one thing's for certain: Kersey is good at killing. If you cross him, get on his bad side, and harm those he loves prepare to die. Parks is so smug, I can only imagine those watching this movie will be waiting with bated breath to see Bronson execute him. Robert Joy is so adept at playing creeps; he may have found a home on CSI: NY, but Joy's made a living playing human vermin. How Bronson uses a "remote control soccer ball" to get even with Joy has to be seen to be believed…it's kind of awesome actually (think of a human inferno). Look, this suffers from the "going to the well one too many times". The last Death Wish (part 4) had been back in '87. By '94, this kind of vigilante action was dying, if not about extinct. That's not to say Parks wasn't game; he's got the goods for portraying a mean bastard who goes after what he wants, and f-all to the collateral damage and bodies left behind. After all Tommy does, we do get the pleasure of seeing each member of his entourage's funeral (those responsible for Olivia's death) when Kersey dispatches them. It all plays out in Olivia's clothing factory/company, with hired gunmen equipped with firepower, as Tommy and his remaining henchman, Sal, holding Chelsea hostage in a room upstairs, await word that Kersey is dead. With use of a cellophane machine, forklift, electrical equipment (sending out sparks and high voltage), and, too cool to leave out, an acid bath, Kersey, only a pistol in hand, will not be denied his chance to capitalize on his vendetta. Parks gets his just desserts in grand fashion. Nothing great (even The Crackdown was better) to speak of, and Bronson, even though he aged extremely well, had too kindly of a face by this time in his career and life to really convince as a one-man army. Still bad-ass geriatric vigilante does kind of have a nice ring to it. But, taking this seriously at all, I doubt many could really accept Bronson in the twilight of his career as walking ammunition. I love the guy, don't get me wrong, but I think he should have laid this part to rest after the awesomeness that was Death Wish III.

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