Death Wish 4: The Crackdown

Rating:
Summary: I love Paul Kersey!!!
Review: No one delivers great lines and goes after the bad guys like Bronson! He is just too cool! Most of these "deathwish" sequels have 2 star reviews on cable,but if you like Bronson and you like vigilantism,these films dont disappoint.

Rating:
Summary: I love Paul Kersey!!!
Review: No one delivers great lines and goes after the bad guys like Bronson! He is just too cool! Most of these "deathwish" sequels have 2 star reviews on cable,but if you like Bronson and you like vigilantism,these films dont disappoint.

Rating:
Summary: Wake Up, MGM!!!
Review: Paul Kersey A.K.A The Unluckiest Man In The World moves back to L.A.(he'd be better off disappearing into a small town in Wyoming, but then we wouldn't have a Death Wish movie, would we?)and gets a new girlfriend who's daughter dies(naturally) from a cocaine overdose. Well, then he's back in Bronson mode, and manages to bring down the L.A cocaine empire in a few days. Cool. Not as wild and out of control as Part 3, but good violent fun nonetheless. Michael Winner decided to hang up the directing duties after 3, and now J. Lee Thompson(who made about 8 million 80s action flicks with Bronson) takes over. This is just like any other crude Thompson/Bronson actioner from the 80s-and that's either good or terribly bad depending on your taste. My big problem is with MGM's halfassed treatment of these dvds. Death Wish 2, 3, and 4 all came out on the same day and all three are terrible disappointments. Sure, the picture's the best it can be, but MGM has gotten extremely lazy and not released them in widescreen format. The same goes for most of the MGM released Chuck Norris films. Look, these films aren't art, and didn't have oscar winning cinematography, but they do have a fan base and those fans have been waiting for these dvds for a long time so they could ditch their old VHS copies for a nice widescreen transfer. Well, the fans will be saving themselves alot coz they might as well, and probably will just keep their VHS copies. A "making of" documentary was filmed at the same time as Death Wish 3-why isn't that on the dvd? MGM better get the lead out fast.

Rating:
Summary: great fun
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Only Charles Bronson, only Charles Bronson...
Review: Same Paul Kersey storyline, but like I said, nobody pulls it of like old Charles Bronson. The plot does get interesting in this one though. The actors portraying the gangsters did a great job. Charles Bronson role is as always-- legendary in its own way. It was fun watching Paul Kersey (Bronson) systematically hunt down the bad guys. Let's just say I was so into the story, at the last climatic grenade launch, I found myself cheering like the Vikings just won the superbowl. As fan of mafia movies like those of Al Pacino's ---sobbing, "They just whacked Jimmy!"--- I think Death Wish 4 is a four star.

Rating:
Summary: There's a plot, but it's still AWESOME!!
Review: The main 'problem' with Death Wish 4 is that there's a bit of a plot and that makes it a little different from the last 3 Death Wishes, but hell it's still a good time!! Having killed all muggers and rapists, Kersey's now killing mobsters connected to crack! He just keeps working his way up the food chain! There's a plot twist in this one too! Does it get any better than the Death Wish series? NO WAY! Nobody wreaks vengeance like Bronson! Wait til ya see Death Wish 5!

Rating:
Summary: Paul Kersey wages his own War on Drugs.
Review: When his girlfriend's teenaged daughter dies from a cocaine overdose, Paul Kersey again picks up a gun and starts wasting drug dealers. Although the story's twists and turns border on being silly, nonetheless star Bronson and director J. Lee Thompson give this unnecessary entry in the Death Wish series a little something extra. The opening minutes of the film are particularly impressive, sending a subtle signal that they were trying to make a real movie instead of just another bargain basement formula action thriller. So well done it's almost good in its own right instead of being just another b-grade guilty pleasure.

Rating:
Summary: The war on drugs, Bronson style!
Review: When Paul "I'm no more Mr. Vigilante" Kersey's girlfriend's daughter dies of a cocaine overdose, the retired one man judge, jury, and executioner dusts off his pistol and sends the drug dealer responsible to the morgue in spectacular fashion. But this time someone saw him and that someone has plans of his own for the coming out of retirement vigilante. Certainly Death Wish 4: The Crackdown has some silly plot twist and turns, but that is part of its charm. It is very much a Cannon Picture, but it is a solid one. Screenwriter Gail Morgan Hickman (who also wrote portions of the Dirty Harry thriller The Enforcer) actually bothers to come up with a story to try and hold the interest between all the gunfights and explosions. I have always thought that this outting was a nifty change of pace and it remains my favorite of the three Golan/Globus/Cannon Group produced sequels. This was also the first Death Wish movie not directed by Michael Winner. Charles Bronson's other longtime collaborator J. Lee Thompson (The Evil That Men Do, 10 to Midnight, Murphy's Law, and Messenger of Death) took the helm and delivered a polished little action picture. One can appreciate the subtle visual and editing touches he adds to the movie, such as setting the opening credits in a dark, underground parking garage. Such an image is a marked difference from the urban jungle cityscapes employed by former series director Michael Winner. It sends the clear message that, rather setting the movie within a volatile urban jungle, this will be a darker, more enclosed picture and...oh, who am I kidding here...BRONSON BLOWS THE SCUM AWAY! That is what people watch these movies for and, despite some silly moments, this is the Cannon Death Wish sequel that feels most like a serious action movie and not just an exploitation thriller. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: The war on drugs, Bronson style!
Review: When Paul "I'm no more Mr. Vigilante" Kersey's girlfriend's daughter dies of a cocaine overdose, the retired one man judge, jury, and executioner dusts off his pistol and sends the drug dealer responsible to the morgue in spectacular fashion. But this time someone saw him and that someone has plans of his own for the coming out of retirement vigilante. Certainly Death Wish 4: The Crackdown has some silly plot twist and turns, but that is part of its charm. It is very much a Cannon Picture, but it is a solid one. Screenwriter Gail Morgan Hickman (who also wrote portions of the Dirty Harry thriller The Enforcer) actually bothers to come up with a story to try and hold the interest between all the gunfights and explosions. I have always thought that this outting was a nifty change of pace and it remains my favorite of the three Golan/Globus/Cannon Group produced sequels. This was also the first Death Wish movie not directed by Michael Winner. Charles Bronson's other longtime collaborator J. Lee Thompson (The Evil That Men Do, 10 to Midnight, Murphy's Law, and Messenger of Death) took the helm and delivered a polished little action picture. One can appreciate the subtle visual and editing touches he adds to the movie, such as setting the opening credits in a dark, underground parking garage. Such an image is a marked difference from the urban jungle cityscapes employed by former series director Michael Winner. It sends the clear message that, rather setting the movie within a volatile urban jungle, this will be a darker, more enclosed picture and...oh, who am I kidding here...BRONSON BLOWS THE SCUM AWAY! That is what people watch these movies for and, despite some silly moments, this is the Cannon Death Wish sequel that feels most like a serious action movie and not just an exploitation thriller. Highly recommended.