Death Sentence

Halfway into Death Sentence, grieving father Nick Hume, played by Kevin Bacon, leads a group of gang bangers on a rather uninspired foot chase though city streets, alleyways and a parking garage. The scene was shot in downtown Columbia, South Carolina, the location where I once shot a student film, and this was the sole reason I saw this sometimes thrilling but mostly uneven mess.

Death Sentence is a riff on the Charles Bronson thriller Death Wish, but this time it’s Kevin Bacon seeking revenge against an urban drug gang for the murder of his favorite son. There are some nice moments here, and theme of what an everyman is prepared to do to avenge the brutal murder of someone he loves is worth exploring on film. But it is never completely clear how Bacon transforms himself from a white collar executive into a gun-toting vigilante. We understand his motivation is simple revenge, but this is thin and leaves more questions than it answers.

There is also the problem of the police detective, Wallis, played by Aisha Tyler. There have been few cops in movies as incompetent as Detective Wallis. Not only is her delivery staid, but her sloppiness as a police detective is inexplicable, and I can only reason that she is on celluloid because this type of story needs a cop waiting in the wings.

John Goodman as a cut-rate crime lord is the film’s bright spot, yet somehow his participation in this film seems almost an afterthought. Neither Goodman nor Bacon can save it.

On the upside, even though I knew where this film was going, I was never sure how the film would get there. I did not anticipate this Death Wish riff to change gears in the third act and become an homage of sorts to Taxi Driver. I didn’t understand it, wasn’t ready for it, didn’t really buy it, but it was interesting, and kept me in my seat through the final bloodbath.

Death Sentence is a very violent film, and director James Wan (Saw) takes us places a family man would rather not go. His vision of downtown Columbia is one place I’d rather not be.