Review: ‘Death Sentence’

So, I’m on vacation right? I have ideas of how to spend my time off, but they are quickly foiled by some damn coughing bug I picked up somewhere. I decide to stay home and catch up on some movies. One of which was Death Sentence. Yes, I finally got around to watching this and boy, I’m glad I did. I only wish that on one of the three different occasions I “almost” saw it in the theatre, actually resulted in me seeing the movie in the theatre.

Death Sentence (2007) was directed by James Wan (Saw) and is only his second film, followed shortly afterwards by his third, Dead Silence. I will once again, while dodging tomatoes, admit that I have not yet seen any of the Saw movies, but am now convinced to see the original, because of what the director did with Death Sentence. Kevin Bacon (The Woodsman) plays Nick Hume, a straight-laced executive VP for a risk management firm, who loves his family and plays by the rules in life. Then, tragedy strikes as his oldest son is murdered right in front of him. Nick finds himself displeased with the state of our justice system and decides to take matters into his own hands. What ensues is an action-suspense film that trumps its under-hyped marketing, as well as its inspiration … the book Death Sentence, a sequel to Death Wish. [I have not read either book, but apparently this movie doesn’t follow the book(s) at all … I don’t care.]

Scott already pointed out in his review of this DVD some points about the actors playing the gang members and, for the most part I agree. However, two things about this movie make up for its relatively harmless short-comings: the direction of James Wan, and the performance given by Kevin Bacon. Bacon was able to tap into the mind of an upper-class, business-suit-wearing family man turned mad by vengeance with such convincing aptitude … well, his performance further justifies my belief that Kevin Bacon is one of the most underrated actors of our time. The scenes where Nick Hume finally has his ultimate epiphany of what he must do is so realistic it actually creeped me out. He actually looked like he was about to kill someone, but with a deranged “I don’t give a sh** anymore” sort of emphasis that was kind of scary.

James Wan is a director I believe we will be seeing many great films from. His eye for visual texture and atmosphere, along with his masterful techniques for getting the shots he wants, place him high on my directors-to-watch list. One scene that truly stands out in my mind is the first chase between the gang members and Nick Hume. Wan ingeniously orchestrates a highly effective chase sequence through multiple locations and levels, maintaining the audiences attention with one, continuous shot. That’s right … and it works well. Most people probably didn’t notice it because they were too wrapped up in the action. Its this kind of creativity that interests me in new film-makers. Death Sentence is violent, but I felt appropriate since most of it takes place during the climax of the story. Assuming I am not the last person to have watched this DVD, I recommend it to anyone who wants a well-made action-suspense movie and isn’t concerned with a deep, complex storyline.

[rating:3.5/5]

DVD Features:

• Choose to watch either: the Original Theatrical Version, or the Unrated Version
• Fox Movie Channel presents: Making a Scene
• Fox Movie Channel presents: Life After Film School with Kevin Bacon
• Webisodes