Stanko's Stance

Actor Charles Bronson and director Michael Winner brought the often forgotten Death Wish franchise to life in 1974 with a rather surprisingly well-received cult classic. In a classic tale of a father taking up his own arms and avenging terrible deeds done to his family, the early 70’s action-flick did its best to break down the stereotypical genre barriers.

The first trailer for Eli Roth’s reboot of Death Wish, staring Bruce Willis as Paul Kersey, dropped on Thursday, Aug. 3.

The trailer is not good. It’s bad.

The trailer treats viewer like an elementary school child with its blatant step-by-step plot point set ups. The character exposition, the inciting incident, the action plan, and some mayhem.

There is the friend who tries to talk him out of it, played by Vincent D’Onofrio, and a cheesy hot-girl-making-an-innuendo. It is like any other action movie, and unfortunately that doesn’t cut it in the realm of blockbuster success anymore.

Sure, there are the clever one-liners that remind you of Willis’s titular John McClane. But that doesn’t mean Jack squat if the whole entire thing is unforgettable.

This trailer did not get me psyched for this movie at all. It’s rather disheartening. I hope that Roth and Willis can combine to create a pleasant surprise, but initial hopes are not high.

Death Wish was a franchise that expired without much fan fair in 1993 with Death Wish V: The Face of Death. Here’s to Roth’s vision surpassing the expectations set by this first trailer.

The movie will be released on Wednesday, Nov. 22 as a precursor to the Thanksgiving holiday.