Death Sentence (2008)

Unrated DVD

There is something about a good revenge movie that makes my skin crawl. Yes, I am a mild-mannered guy who would never think to take matters into my own hands by unloading rounds on the terrible murderers who have done me wrong. Yet there is something about experiencing this vicariously through a protagonist that makes it "ok". Because in the world of fiction we know in the back of our heads that we are not actually killing anyone, but harmlessly acting as spectators while some other person does the dirty work. It is for this reason that I was psyched to see Kevin Bacon's recent film Death Sentence. Watching the acclaimed actor shave his head in rage and then go after the bastards that harmed his family? Who could resist? I learned after watching the film that resisting is something I wish I had done in the first place.

Bacon stars as Nick Hume, a man who holds his wife and two sons close to his heart. All of this changes one day when his son is gunned down in a convenience store robbery by a punk kid (Matt O'Leary) who kills for the sake of gang initiation. Rather than letting the law take matters into its own hands, Nick suddenly decides that pulling a Charles Bronson would be a much better idea. Before he knows it, Nick himself is a murderer who has avenged the death of his son. Of course the person he murders is blood related to a tattooed and bald gang-banger (Garett Hedlund) who decides to sick his posse on poor Nick. The rest of the film turns into a chase with one party trying to kill the other, and leaving Nick to ultimately decide just how much of a killer he is willing to become.

There is a turning point in the film Death Sentence when it becomes what it truly is, and that is an absurd vengeance film that is aiming to be fun, but is making a complete ass of itself doing so. I should mention that there is some quality filmmaking here at first from Saw auteur James Wan. At first, Nick's clash with the murderers of the street is an intense experience with a parking garage chase sequence that really builds the film up to deliver. Then there comes a point when the film suddenly decides that overblown kitsch and gratuitous violence is the way to go. A not-so-sharp police officer (Aisha Tyler) is aware that Nick is going to cause harm, yet she never seems to do anything about it. And this isn't in the same sympathetic manner of Terrence Howard's police officer from The Brave One. Aisha Tyler's cop could be better described as stupid and daft. John Goodman also joins the fun as a sweaty gun and drug dealer that sells firearms to Nick. Amidst the absurdity, Goodman's presence is actually a welcome one here.

The thing that is so disappointing about Death Sentence is the aforementioned shift from having an agenda to going on a bloody rampage. It is as if James Wan was sitting still and trying to be mature while making the film, when he suddenly had a sugar rush from eating too many Pixie Stix and decided to break into a mindless bloodbath. As a fan of many things violent, I will attest that I love a good dose of splattery fun from time to time. But this change in content is a lot like splicing footage from an 80's slasher film into the middle of a Hitchcockian thriller with class. But it is clear from watching this movie that James Wan is experiencing a little confusion from trying to make something other than a mindless bloodbath. Poor Kevin Bacon also seems out of place donning his exaggerated hard-ass face to the camera when he is angry and ready to make his next kill. I was definitely more terrified by the actor's turn as a predatory pedophile in Barry Levinson's Sleepers. Bacon is an actor who can be hardcore because it is part of his natural demeanor. So watching the man try so hard to be mean leads to more comic relief than dramatic effect.

The special features are best described as material created elsewhere that were dumped onto the DVD. There are no commentaries or original featurettes.

Fox Movie Channel Presents
These are two promo pieces that debuted on the Fox Movie Channel network. The first of the pair is an anatomy of a scene that looks at the parking garage chase scene, which is one of the scenes that actually works in this movie. Therefore, my own bias found interest in this bit. The second featurette is a rather long one in which three film students sit down for a conversation with Kevin Bacon. Bacon seems like a pretty real guy who doesn't pad his answers with fluff. Take for example his advice to be good at waiting tables in order to survive auditioning.

Webisodes
These are promo nuggets that presumably debuted on the Internet. Unfortunately they are rather short with little to offer along the lines of information.

I didn't want to say this when I originally walked out of the theater, but Death Sentence was probably one of the silliest films I saw last year. It has just the right amount of sincerity to it that is completely shattered by the introduction of gratuitous bloodshed. This movie couldn't be more confused with what it wants to be. I think it would have actually worked if the first half were just as campy as the second half, or visa versa. The so-so special features do not do much justice to this DVD either. I would certainly bypass this one for something more promising.

Questions? Comments? Just want to talk movies? Drop me a line at dodd@movieweb.com