I like to keep an open mind about new movie projects, but it’s hard to do so sometimes. Especially with this piece of news that I just got. Apparently the 1974 minor classic revenge film Death Wish is being remade and it will star Bruce Willis and be directed by Eli Roth.
The first red flag here is the fact that it is a remake and a very unnecessary one at that. I’m not going to act like Death Wish hasn’t aged in the 42 years since its release, but it certainly doesn’t require an update. It’s not like you can’t make your own Death Wish style brutal vigilante movie and call it whatever you want either. People have been taking inspiration from it for 40 years. Remaking it seems like an excuse to recycle scenes and dialogue so no creative effort is needed.
Eli Roth is another red flag. While I enjoy some of his movies (Knock Knock is a huge guilty pleasure of one of my favorite films of 2015) he’s kind of hit and miss. He can’t always find the proper balance between comedy and horror in his films.
The biggest red flag though is the star himself. Before you angrily hit the comment section, let me remind you that the Bruce Willis that you may love from the 80s and 90s is dead and gone. He has been doing VOD schlock recently like Vice, The Prince, Extraction, and Precious Cargo in which he has given some of the most horrifically awful performances I’ve ever seen. Watch any of those. You’ll see him reading off cue cards and sitting/standing still the entire time with his voice barely above a whisper. In Precious Cargo, he used body doubles for scenes of simply standing up and talking. I love Die Hard as much as the next guy, but he is an awful, awful actor these days.
So, am I wrong? Are you looking forward to this? Comment away!
Source: THR