Its hard to look at Geoff Goldblum without expecting him to spout fly wings!

Pitched in the seventies as the film for everyone who has ever been a victim of crime (Sort of Dirty Harry without the need for a Badge), Death Wish is just as fresh, controversial and relevant today.

Ok some of it is starting to look a bit dated (Geoff Goldblum in an early role as a type of punk nasty) and the vicious rape centre-piece of the film is becoming rather politically incorrect these days (modern films tend to go more for the heavy implication then the actual showing of sexual violence…well most). However basically it still stands up as a film that asks the question, do criminals have all the rights and why can’t we just blow them away?!

Now I’m not saying I agree with these ideas, not at all, I don’t think Bronson’s avenging character is morally right at all. But then its only a film and meant to make us feel like cheering or something and this it achieves.

Nasty act then horrible revenge has been a fundamental narrative in films for decades. I don’t think this means we all agree with the vengeance or want to carry it out in real life, but it seems we are entertained by seeing such blunt justice at least in the fantasy world the screen creates. Of course we all know that the realities of life are not all so black and white (well most of us do) and that things like capital punishment are inherently flawed.

Agree with it or disagree with it, Death Wish still stands up as a brilliant Bronson film that does exactly what it set out to do, ask questions about the balance between victims rights and criminals getting fairness and justice.