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DEATH WISH

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DEATH WISH

* * ½

(Remake of vengeance movie)

Bruce Willis plays a Chicago doctor who seeks vengeance for the death of his wife and serious injury to his teenage daughter after a violent home invasion.

Remaking a powerful movie with a magnetic hero (Charles Bronson) is a difficult task, one which unfortunately fails on many counts. There were no cell phones and computers back in those days, and Willis just doesn't measure up to the role of a passive man whose job it is to save lives until violence to those closest to him turns him into a vigilante.

The good doctor tries to move on with his life, under the care of a psychiatrist who is helping him along the seven stages of grief, until the day he tries to stop two muggers and gets mugged himself. He then finds himself saving a woman from car jackers, shoots them, and becomes an Internet hero, known as the Grim Reaper. He graduates to wiping out drug dealers, gains fame and, unfortunately, copycats, and moves on to wiping out the gang who murdered his wife. Meanwhile, the Chicago detectives are suspicious of his involvement, but keep hands off.

The movie becomes quite violent, as the doctor finds innovative ways to eliminate the bad guys. Not sure what the moral is here.

Is revenge to be applauded?

Are there limits to how much a person can take before taking matters into his own hands?

And why would anyone want to live in Chicago?

Rated R with lots of violence and profanity.

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