Death Sentence:
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Kelly Preston, John Goodman
Director: James Wan
Genre: Action / Drama
Rating: R for brutal violence and pervasive language
Plot: Nick Hume (Kevin Bacon) is a mild-mannered executive with a perfect life, until one gruesome night he witnesses something that changes him forever. Transformed by grief, Hume eventually comes to the conclusion that no length is too great when protecting his family.

My Review: I made the mistake of going into Death Sentence with high hopes and was sadly let down. Death Sentence wasn’t necessarily bad, but it just wasn’t very good either. While it did serve up exactly what it promised, a brutal story of a business man turned vigilante seeking vengeance, it didn’t do it in the most polished or skillful way. There are huge gaping holes both in the bodies of the victims and in the story, but most of these are forgivable as you’re dealing with a rough genre film as is. However, what I had a hard time getting over was how cheesy the dialogue and directing would turn these otherwise great actors and actresses.

Looking back I think my biggest grip is how the director never seemed to make up his mind on whether Bacon had really turned from being a gentle, loving father to a brutal killer. Some scenes would pose him doing terrible things, then the next he’d be right back to the soft spoken, teary eye dad only to immediately return to revenge seeking murders. This made it really hard to accept him as someone who has “snapped” as I don’t think you can keep snapping back and forth without your character just breaking off completely from its audience. It’s not until the near end that Bacon’s character seems to have permanently gone off the deep-end. Things would have been much more effective had he taken this leap sooner.

If you enjoy the Death Wish & Bronson styled movies then this is probably worth catching as a matinée or a rental down the road. However, be warned, Death Sentence isn’t for everyone. The story is definitely brutal and the violence is video game like in its abundance of red spray. Death Sentence carries a heavy plot and isn’t ideal for younger audiences or weaker stomachs. If you’re looking for a shoot ‘em up, drop ‘em dead then Death Sentence is the one for you, but I can guarantee it won’t be winning any awards.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars
High Point: Plenty of gun-toting vengeance
Low Point: Cheesy dialogue; disjointed between scenes

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