Death Sentence (2007 film)

In the extended version of the film, Nick succumbs to his injuries.

Brian Garfield, author of the original novel Death Wish and its sequel Death Sentence, was disappointed with the film adaptation of Death Wish (1974) and the subsequent sequels. In 1980, he was hired by the Cannon Group, Inc. to write a film adaptation of Death Sentence to be helmed by the first film's director Michael Winner. However, Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus disliked the second novel and instead decided to purchase the rights to Garfield's characters rather than adapting the novel itself. They also purchased the rights to the first film from Dino De Laurentiis and Paramount Pictures. The subsequent film Death Wish II (1982) was strictly a sequel to the first film and bore no relation to Garfield's novel.[3]

The film franchise has since gathered a cult following after the release of its third part, Death Wish 3 (1985). After James Wan had read Garfield's novels and seen all the film adaptions, he got an inspiration to make his film about the novels. Garfield was impressed after he was hired to make the first few drafts for the film to make the film what Garfield had imagined it to be. The rest of the chosen draft was written by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers.

Kevin Bacon was hired after James saw him as the perfect choice for the role of Nick Hume. Garrett Hedlund was chosen for the role of Billy Darley, the main leader of the gang. He was asked to shave his head and gain some weight, to which he agreed. He also watched a documentary about lions to portray Billy's animalistic nature. Aisha Tyler had been cast as the detective, Jessica Wallis. She was originally written as a 50-year-old male detective, but the choice was cancelled. Other cast members include John Goodman, Judith Roberts and Stuart Lafferty.

The film was shot in 2 months. The filming locations included, Columbia, South Carolina and Los Angeles, California.

The music was composed by Charlie Clouser, who previously collaborated with Wan on Saw (2004) and Dead Silence (2007).

Incidental music includes several bars of "Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix, played while Nick is stalking Joe Darley.

Death Sentence opened in 1,822 theaters in the United States and grossed $4,231,321, with an average of $2,322 per theater and ranking #8 at the box office. The film ultimately earned $9,534,258 domestically and $7,440,201 internationally for a total of $16,974,459.[2]

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 20% of 113 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 4.20/10. The critical consensus states: "A nonsensical plot and an absurd amount of violence make this revenge pic gratuitous and overwrought."[4] The film has a score of 36 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 24 critics, indicating "Generally unfavorable reviews".[5]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2+1⁄2 stars out of 4. He compared Death Sentence to the Death Wish films starring Charles Bronson, saying: "In the Bronson movies, the hero just looked more and more determined until you felt if you tapped his face, it would explode. In Death Sentence, Bacon acts out a lot more." Ebert called Death Sentence "very efficient", praising "a courtroom scene of true surprise and suspense, and some other effective moments", but concluded that "basically this is a movie about a lot of people shooting at each other".[6]

Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club contends the film is "certainly never boring"; he felt that director James Wan was "too busy jamming the accelerator to realize that his movie's spinning out of control."[7] Matt Zoller Seitz of The New York Times said, "Aside from a stunning three-minute tracking shot as the gang pursues Nick through a parking garage, and Mr. Bacon's hauntingly pale, dark-eyed visage, Mr. Wan's film is a tedious, pandering time-waster."[8] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly felt that "[t]he morality of revenge is barely at issue in a movie that pushes the plausibility of revenge right over a cliff."[9] Conversely, Justin Chang of Variety called the film "well-made, often intensely gripping".[10] Similarly, Bill Gibron of PopMatters felt the film was "a significant movie" and "a wonderfully tight little thriller".[11] Darren Amner of Eye for Film also gave the film a positive review, praising Bacon's performance in particular: "[H]is portrayal is emotional, sympathetic and highly aggressive. As a father he is touching and as a stone-cold killing machine he is even more convincing."[12]

Author Brian Garfield, who wrote the novel the film is loosely based on, said of the film: "While I could have done with a bit less blood-and-thunder, I think it's a stunningly good movie. In the details of its story it's quite different from the novel, but it's a movie, not a novel. In its cinematic way it connects with its audience and it makes the same point the book makes, and those are the things that count." He also liked that, like his novels, but unlike the Death Wish film series, it does not advocate vigilantism.[13] Garfield further explained in an interview: "I think that, except for its ludicrous violence toward the end, the Death Sentence movie does depict its character's decline and the stupidity of vengeful vigilantism," adding, "As a story it made the point I wanted it to make."[14]