Death Wish Review: 2 Ups & 7 Downs

6. Joe Carnahan's Surprisingly Awful Script

Though you'd probably assume the script for this movie was written by either an anonymous hack or a committee of writers throwing their ideas into a blender, it's actually scripted by a single, talented writer: Joe Carnahan.

Carnahan has written and directed well-received movies such as Narc and The Grey, not to mention more broad action films such as Smokin' Aces and The A-Team, all of which are leagues ahead of his writing here.

One suspects Carnahan watched the original Bronson movie, locked himself in a hotel room and cranked this script out over a lazy weekend for a quick paycheck.

The contrivances quickly pile up, Kersey's journey from mild-mannered surgeon to gun-totting vengeance-monger is never much convincing, and some of the woefully on-the-nose dialogue just might leave you literally wincing at how bad it is. Oof.