Movieman Madness: Cinema Spotlight IV - James Wan (Part 3): 'Death Sentence'

Like any Horror director, there comes a time when one must try something new. For his third outing, James Wan decided to adapt one of Brian Garfield's novels; the very same that inspired the Death Wish movies starring Charles Bronson and the 2018 remake with Bruce Willis. After viewing this movie, I wonder if the Bronson and Willis versions are any better or worse.

Nick Hume (Kevin Bacon) lives an ordinary and perfect life. Happily married with two sons and a nice executive job until one night when a gang member kill his son. Seeing his assailant evade the punishment he deserves, Hume takes matters into his own hands as he slowly descends into a path of vengeance and madness.

The English dub of Pokemon the First Movie had a forced message that fighting is wrong in an anime that is all about fighting. Not the best property to campaign such morals. Death Sentence for all its heavy symbolism and emphasis that violence and revenge are wrong, have the same contradictions by glorifying such actions. Kevin Bacon as the battered man reduced to rage is on the nose but his transition compared to say Mel Gibson in the first Mad Max movie isn't as gripping. For a majority of the movie we see the main character start out as a normal and mild-manner person trying to maintain himself amidst the brutality that is occurring. He doesn't want to be brought down to that level, which makes his eventual downfall all the more tragic and the final confrontation more intense in the third act. With Death Sentence, it rushes Hume breaking down in the first twenty minutes with little to no time to of development to him or his family.

All the players, including John Goodman playing a less charismatic version of his character in the The Big Lebowski, range from one-dimensional brutes or not given enough screen time to be invested in. Never a good sign when the villain, played by the underrated Garrett Hedlund, is the one character who stands out.

Garrett Hedlund as Billy Darley

If it weren't for the use of the color red and the few Easter eggs of his past films, I wouldn't have realized that this was a Wan movie. I stated before that Dead Silence, served as a demo for Wan's later work in Horror. Death Sentence serves as a demo for his action work. Glimpses were seen in his last two films, but Death Sentence lets him have free reign. While story and characters could use some work, the movie proves that Wan can do action. The one part that is impressive is a chase scene between Hume and the gang members. It's followed by an uninterrupted shot of Hume arriving at a parking garage with the hooligans not far behind. What follows is a silly fight scene that convinced an executive at Universal to hire Wan for a certain car franchise starring Vin Diesel.

Death Sentence carries some potential but like in every experiment don’t expect positive results on the first run. I give it the same recommendation as Wan's previous film. Worth watching just to see his filmmaking flair.

Fishy Foreshadowing:

It rains twice. First at the funeral of Hume's son where the vengeance first begins to build.
Spoilers: The second after ~~his wife and possibly his second son's death and ready for revenge.~~

Easter eggs:

Judge Shaw

Judith Roberts reprises her role as Mary Shaw
only this time in a judicial position.

Red

A shot for every shade of red in a pivotal or villainous use.

Leigh Whannell

Leigh Whannell as the gangster Spink
Death Sentence was the first non-collaboration between the Wan and Whannell
in the filmmaking process but Whanell found a way to be involved by acting in this movie.

Stygian

A tortured thug revealing Hume their hideout on Stygian Street.
Stygian was the name of Wan's student film back in college.
It was also used as a street name in Saw.

Jigsaw