Death Wish Review: 2 Ups & 7 Downs

As bad as you're expecting.

By Jack Pooley /

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

The Bruce Willis-starring Death Wish remake is in UK cinemas now, and following its low-key American release last month - where it only barely recouped its $30 million budget - it's safe to say just about nobody really cares.

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Predictably, critics haven't been at all enamoured with this attempt to update the iconic 1974 Charles Bronson-starring revenge thriller, which squanders the little potential it actually had with a resoundingly by-the-numbers treatment.

Willis continues to cement that he's past caring about his credibility, while the film categorically fails to deliver the subversive perspective which could've helped it feel fresh in such a crowded genre.

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MGM banked on pandering to the right-wing NRA-loving gun-nut demographic with this film, but curiously even they didn't turn out for it. How sad.

If you're somehow still curious about the film, just wait until it lands on Netflix, because no movie this cynical and calculated deserves your hard-earned box office bucks. Until then, here's what (barely) worked and what really, really didn't...

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