Death Wish II

Directed by Michael Winner, Death Wish II follows Charles Bronson’s Paul Kersey as he once again embarks on a campaign of revenge after his daughter (Robin Sherwood’s Carol) and housekeeper (Silvana Gallardo’s Rosario) are brutally attacked. Filmmaker Winner, armed with David Engelbach’s screenplay, delivers a hit-and-miss sequel that gets off to an almost impressively nasty (and unpleasant) start, and it’s clear, certainly, that Death Wish II‘s minor success, particularly in its early stages, is due predominantly to Bronson’s typically commanding and engaging presence – with the actor’s often spellbinding work here smoothing over the narrative’s various bumps and lulls. And while the midsection does boast something of a repetitive feel, as Paul stalks and kills the men responsible one by one, Death Wish II, which admittedly does take a slightly different path than its predecessor (ie Paul only pursues his marks, rather than criminals in general), builds towards an exciting and gleefully ludicrous finale wherein Paul disguises himself as a medical professional to take out his final target – with the end result an erratic yet watchable followup that fares just about as well as one might’ve anticipated.

**1/2 out of ****