Leofwine_draca The fourth in the series is definitely one of the cheesiest Death Wish films out there, almost equalling the heady heights of DEATH WISH 3 in many key scenes. Utilising only the barest backbone of a plot, this outing sees Bronson battling against various despicable drug dealers, and, in a very similar fashion to Seagal's OUT FOR A KILL, the film basically consists of him going along and killing person after person with no bonding, characterisation, dialogue or family scenes to get in the way. Now this is what an '80s Cannon film is all about!The action is leaner here unlike the all out balls-to-the-wall assault that was DEATH WISH 3; this time Bronson works alone, going after and killing the baddies one by one in various amusing ways. This entry, we get death by wine-bottle-bomb; a guy getting chucked out of a high-rise; a guy exploding with a rocket launcher, and plenty more interesting and exciting moments. The film is a little like the first entries in the series, being grittier here, more realistic and a lot darker in terms of lighting. Don't expect any happy endings.The cast are okay but really nothing special. Bronson walks through the part with his stony face, delivering cheesy one-liners that are actually amusing, and you can't wish for anything more. John P. Ryan is typically over-the-top whilst TV actress Kay Lenz barely get a look in as Bronson's new wife. Movie baddie Soon-Tek Oh pops up as a crooked cop hot on Bronson's trail, whilst there are very small parts for future stars Mitch Pileggi and Danny Trejo. The run-time is short and the film is packed with sadistic action and suspense; pretty much all you can want in a typical mindless '80s action. I love it!

Michael_Elliott Death Wish 4 (1987) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) is now living with a new woman and her teenage daughter. Everything is going fine until they're called to the hospital one night and the daughter dies of a drug overdose. Soon, another man who lost his daughter to drugs asks Kersey to take out not only the dealers but the Mafia guys at the top who are supplying the cocaine. Soon a gang war breaks out with Kersey killing members from both sides.The DEATH WISH series is one of the most interesting in the history of cinema because all of them are just so different. The first one was a very serious political movie that asked a lot of serious questions. It's easy to see why it was so controversial and its subject is still a hot topic. Part two was an extremely violent exploitation movie that was also controversial due to how brutal and graphic it was. The third film in the series was like a live action cartoon with the over-the-top characters and bizarre gun battles. This fourth film in the series actually contains the most believable story of all the sequels but at the same time it might have worked better as its own film and not lumped in with the series. After all, how many people can Kersey constantly be losing? Director J. Lee Thompson once again takes a low-budget movie and adds some life to it. This is certainly true during the opening sequence, which is quite effective and especially how Bronson is introduced. The entire story is actually very well-written and it plays out rather nicely until a switch that happens towards the end, which drags the running time out even more. I thought the idea of going after drug dealers was rather good and especially playing the mob against one another. Obviously Cannon wanted to use the popular DEATH WISH title but at the same time I think the film works better on its own and not being connected.Bronson turns in a rather energetic performance as he certainly has no problem playing the tough guy. The supporting players, for the most part, are all good in their roles. Once again we're treated to some nice cinematography, a good score and plenty of very good action scenes including one large shoot out in an oil field. The biggest problem with DEATH WISH 4 is that it gets a bit long-winded as it plays on. I think the film would have benefited had around ten minutes been taken out. Still, overall it's a fairly good entry in the series.

Sandcooler It's probably been brought up many times before, but once more for the road: why does Paul Kersey insist on meeting new people? I understand that the guy hates being lonely, but when everyone around you keeps getting murdered you should consider a cabin in the mountains. It also doesn't help that this time around we really don't care about the victim. The surrogate daughter seemed nice I guess, but we saw her for like two minutes. When Kersey's relatives died in the first two parts, you had already gotten to know them and understood why he'd want his revenge. Here it's just meh, we never see anything that would suggest an actual bond. Charles Bronson really seems bored with the whole thing now, visibly wondering why he's still doing this stuff. And probably also why his character won't die. If you witness a mobster killing someone, he kills you. He doesn't say "hey guy I've never seen before, want to help us bury him for some bucks?". "Death Wish 3" has its stupid moments, but it thrived on them. The stupidity of this one makes you groan. That shouldn't suggest it's without its moments though. The sequence at the oilfield for instance ends with a very nice "Once Upon A Time In The West"-pastiche, there's a fairly unpredictable twist thrown in there (you figure it out just too soon) and the ending is even pretty awesome and partly redeems all the stuff that desperately requires redemption. Generally "Death Wish 4" is a pedestrian B-movie, but it's easy to sit through.

AaronCapenBanner Charles Bronson returns again as vigilante Paul Kersey, this time back in L.A., and after the drug dealers responsible for the overdose death of his girlfriend's daughter. Paul is helped by tycoon Nathan White(John P. Ryan) who wants to "hire" Paul to use his skills to eradicate the drug families in the area. Paul agrees(and in a situation similar to "Fistful Of Dollars") goes undercover to bring both crime families down, only to learn that it isn't as simple as that...Interesting to chart this series compared to the similar "Dirty Harry" films, but this franchise declined in quality compared to the other, though Charles Bronson was still quite capable of handling the action, the script and production were weak, with an unconvincing plot and uninspired action scenes making the film seem redundant; unusual ending, which could be looked at as both Bronson/Kersey giving up...though there would be one last film to come.