Review: Death Wish 4 Is The Premier Charles Bronson Movie

My dad was a huge Charles Bronson fan. I don’t know what it was, but there was something that he loved about him. Perhaps it’s the fact that Bronson looked like a European version of my father. Then again, I think my dad looks like the Mexican Jackie Chan. Whatever the case is, I was introduced to the Death Wish series with installment #4. I saw it on VHS and it was classic. My dad let me watch whatever I wanted, so thanks to him this website even exists. The dude ditched me at age 8, but every now and again I’ll hear from him and he’ll tell me he’s proud or something else. I don’t know. It’s been a while.

That’s not what I’m here to talk about, I’m here to talk about an architect turned vigilante. Paul Kersey is a man that is going to take the law into his own hands. Directed by J. Lee Thompson “Death Wish 4” completely blew me away and still is awesome. When Kersey’s girlfriend’s daughter dies of a drug overdose, he has to take down some serious drug trade kingpins and he does so with brutality and NO MERCY!

Once you mess with Paul Kersey, you’re going to die, and not just die, but you’re going to get completely made fun of after the fact. In this movie he takes down a lot of bad guys, and if you pay attention Danny Trejo makes an appearance as “Art Sanella”. The ending of these movies really gets publicity, and this one is no different. Not only is Bronson’s on screen love killed, he exacts revenge with a grenade launcher right at the bad guy, and ridiculous explosions ensue.

This movie is another instance where Cannon creates exploitation glory. The movie is fast paced, and you know what is going to happen. Long before we had a “Jigsaw” killer, there was one man taking the law into his own hands because the police couldn’t help him. That’s what you get with Death Wish and that’s what you get with this 4th installment. It’s a classic, and it’s not necessarily a horror film, but it’s an example of the grindhouse cinema style that inspires many creative film makers to pursue the dream of making movies.

Then again, maybe it just makes people like myself wax poetic about bad acting, extreme violence, and skateboard companies named after a cool series. Death Wish 4 is NOT available on Netflix, those bastards, at least not streaming, so I had to track it down on my own. I recommend it, because it’s Charles Bronson and it’s Death Wish, a big part of my movie history. Check it out for free, or buy it by clicking here.