It's no surprise to anyone that every possible property seems to have a remake in the works. I try to stay open minded, as there are certainly some stories that ask to be "modernized" Obviously for studios it's a dollars problem, easier and safer to market a name that's already known and possibly loved than risking a lot of time, money and effort familiarizing us with a product that we may just choose to reject for whatever reason. It is a business after all, so that makes sense. So, I watched the recent remake of "The Mechanic" with as open a mind as possible, considering I loved the 1972 Michael Winner original starring Mr. Charles Bronson. I did a full look at that one in a past entry here:
I don't think the 2011 movie is a bad film necessarily. Jason Statham is a reasonable action hero, and it's a reasonable action movie. Most of the main plot elements of the original are brought over to the remake, Jason Statham is Arthur Bishop just like Charles Bronson was. However, the two Arthur Bishops have very little in common, aside from the fact that they are both renowned hit men. Statham's Bishop is not a man trying to assert his independence and comfortable with the idea of his own death. He actually comes across as a pretty lighthearted guy that just happens to kill people. The meticulous planning ritual that Bronson's Bishop underwent for every job are lightened up, save for the knowledge that Statham's does have a planning board and a record player. Where Bronson gives us a heavy thinker, swimming in existential angst, who doesn't miss a detail, Statham is a man of action who tries to be careful. Bronson is a skilled technician. Statham is a competent professional. THere's a big difference. The difference in the opening scenes tells us all about it. In the original, Bronson set up an elaborate hit with many moving parts and executes it skillfully and precisely. In the remake, Statham waits for a guy in his swimming pool and drowns him. It works but is hardly artistic.
Another element missing in the remake is the sense of "ties" between everyone. Like Bronson, Statham is required to kill an old friend/mentor figure. In the original we were shown the deep bond between the two characters, just by the way they interacted, and the shared anecdotes, the comfortable space you see in lifelong acquaintances. In the 2011 version, we're told of a longtime relationship, and Donald Sutherland lends his considerable gravity to the scenes, but all the same, we don't get the depth of two people who know each other's lives, and way of life intimately. In the original, both Bishop and his mentor (and Bishop's father before him) have lived in the shadow of "the Organization" an affiliation which has clearly taken a toll on both of them. In the update "the Organization" has no more weight than any major company.
The difference in the presence of "the Organization" is huge considering the differences between the two films. In the original, the Organization is shadowy and immensely powerful. Their figurehead (Frank DeKova) is surrounded by foreboding, and has no trouble telling Bishop what he has to do, threatening him with ease and certainty. Bronson's Bishop has no chance to take down the Organization, they are quite simply too big for him to tackle. That oppression greatly informs his lifestyle and adds to his angst. In the remake, the Organization may as well be staffed by middle managers at any given corporation. When they cross Bishop, it's a very simple problem, he has to go after them and kill them first. There's little angst involved, and the outcome is never in doubt, Statham of course, will get his payback.
The relationship between Bishop and his new protege is also very different. In the original "Steve" (Jan Michael Vincent) is a truly distant and sadistic sort, who revels in almost letting his girlfriend bleed to death to impress Bishop. While he doesn't have nearly the depth of Bishop's character, they do share a certain coldness and a commitment to "making their own rules" The 2011 Steve (Ben Foster) is much less clearly defined, rather than cold, he's portrayed as unpredictable, sloppy, and daring. (qualities which Bishop shouldn't find impressive, but does) Contrasted with the original Steve watching his girlfriend bleed to death, the remake Steve impresses Bishop by trying to kill a carjacker because (supposedly) a carjacker killed his father. Of course in both versions, Steve's father was Bishop's mentor figure who he killed, setting up possible vendettas. The original Steve, however, didn't seem emotionally bothered by his father's death at all, the lack of emotion part of what made Bishop interested in taking him under his wing. Ben Foster's Steve is just unlikeable, short tempered, and incompetent.
Of course one of the most famous parts of the 1972 Mechanic was it's ending, the dead Bishop leaving a note for Steve, letting him know that he saw his death coming and that he would be dead in a moment himself. This type of planning was Arthur Bishop all over. In the remake there's a note, but the set up seems a bit contrived. The note is also from a Bishop who just improbably escaped the clumsily attempted hit. The fact that Bishop is still alive takes most of the punch out of the note and the ending.
The original Mechanic was a hit man movie loaded with existential questions, deep characters, and unsolvable dilemmas. No one would expect a happy ending from it as the world presented, would never support it. It asked if anyone can really play by their own rules and an interesting answer. The remake gives us a solid action film, with no existential turmoil, only unlikeable and incompetent people. Bishop's relative competence puts him one up on everyone and he dismantles his employer with little trouble at all, kills his faithless protege and lives happily ever after. For two movies with the same plot the differences are remarkable and a tremendously ponderous film loses all it's gravity to become just another action film. Any questions about "living by your own rules" are dismissed because we're reminded that you just can't kill the main character. The relationships all come across as forced.
That's not to say it's a "bad" movie. Simon West does make a good action flick, the explosions and assassinations and action sequences are impressive. The remake certainly comes across as a better looking product, as the original relied much more on story and character than budget. The actors are all solid enough. Statham is a likable enough action lead that you can enjoy watching, just don't expect philosophy or masterful tension. You could still have a good time watching it on it's own terms. Whether it's telling about the times, the studios, or the directors, is tough to say, but personally, I think you couldn't pick a worse movie to tack with a happy ending.
What Happens?
"The Mechanic"is a different twist on the "hit man's last job" movie, presenting Charles Bronson as solitary and stoic as ever, yet forced to realize he's aging and can't do what he once did. Rather than try to retire or get out of the business, he chooses to train someone else to thin his workload. At least that's how it appears on the surface.
Arthur Bishop (Charles Bronson) is the best hit man or "mechanic" around. We see his meticulous methods right away, opening the movie with Bishop on the job. After learning his target's daily routine and securing an apartment with a window facing his target's window. He takes pictures of the man's apartment and scrutinizes his information at home for the perfect way to kill him. He breaks into the man's apartment and prepares it for the hit by placing a malleable explosive in a book in the man's bedroom rigging the gas oven to leak and drugging his tea. From the facing apartment, he watches the target drink his tea, and get drowsy, He waits until later that night, before shooting the book in the bedroom with a sniper rifle, causing a big and fatal explosion.
Bishop next meets with Harry McKenna, (Keenan Wynn) a longtime friend of his father. Harry explains the the Organization says that Harry broke "the agreement" and won't take his calls any longer. He would like Bishop to talk to them on his behalf. Bishop doesn't see what difference that will make, but Harry explains that the reverence they had for Bishop's father, might make them more agreeable. Over a drink, Harry reminds Bishop of a story about Harry, Bishop's father and Bishop as a boy on a fishing trip. Bishop had fallen overboard and couldn't swim, which prompted his father to say "he'll learn" not moving a muscle to help him. Harry recalls that he himself had to reach out and pull him back into the boat.
Harry: Your old man, he laughed like hell!
Bishop: That was a long time ago.
Their visit is interrupted by Harry's son Steve (Jan-Michael Vincent) who shows up looking for money. Harry initially gives him a hard time before handing him the $1,000.00 he wants and Steve remarks, "My father gets uptight when I ask him for money he steals from other people." Harry apologizes for his son's manner and asks Bishop to call when he knows something.
Bishop gets a delivery which is the contract on Harry. He pins up all of Harry's personal information and plans out the hit. He scouts a remote beach location and tells Harry the Organization has asked him to meet there. When they arrive, Bishop drives up to a hill overlooking Harry on the beach. He takes shots at Harry from his hidden location and then acts as if he's discovered a sniper and is attempting to help Harry get away. Harry runs to the car, exhausted and Bishop approaches him gun in hand revealing his intention. Bishop then suffocates Harry in the car.
Bishop visits a girl (Jill Ireland) who role plays a rather mundane drama with him, playing his neglected girlfriend, including reading a letter she wrote, requiring him to comfort her. After they spend the night together, she announces that the letter was difficult and will cost him another hundred. He agrees, remarking that the letter was a good touch, recommending something like it for next time.
Bishop runs into Steve again at Harry's funeral. Steve isn't too bothered by his father's death, describing his father to Bishop as "Harry McKenna, fixer extraordinaire, pusher, pimp, thief, arsonist..." Bishop asks, "You liked him a lot?" Bishop tells Steve that Harry had worked for his father years ago. Steve realizes that this means Bishop's father was in the Organization and he asks Bishop if he's in himself, surmising that he is although Bishop tries to change the subject, reminding him to pay attention to the funeral. When Bishop remarks on Steve being sure of himself he responds "I live in my mind, Mr. Bishop."
Bishop: "Sounds like something I read someplace.
Steve: And so do you.
Bishop leaves the service and Steve asks him for a ride home. Bishop agrees and finds that Harry's (now Steve's) house is full of Steve's friends having a party. Wading through the crowd, Steve tells Bishop, "My father never really liked my friends, and I'm not so sure I do either." Steve gets a phone call from a girlfriend, Louise, threatening to kill herself. He asks Bishop if he'll come along to visit Louise. They find Louise with razor blades, preparing to slit her wrists. Steve makes a show of not caring and Louise cuts one of her wrists to prove she will, still getting no reaction from Steve or Bishop, other than Bishop telling her how long it will take her to die based on her weight. Louise insists that Steve will stop her before she dies, but Steve says "Listen, if you don't care anything about your life, then why should I?" Steve throws her some car keys and tells her she might live if she heads to the Sheriff's station in Malibu right away.
Discussing the situation, and the idea of watching someone die, Bishop he tells Steve "It just means you have your own rule book."
Steve: I can dig that.
Bishop: It takes a very special kind of person to pick up the tab for that kind of living. You say you dig it, but you're talking about something you really know nothing about.
Steve: And you do?
Bishop: Do I?
Bishop attends to his routines including martial arts, and knife throwing as well as talking a lot of pills. Visiting an aquarium he passes out, and wakes up in the hospital. The Doctor at the hospital recommends he see his own doctor, and says it sounds like he's experiencing "Acute Anxiety Reaction" adding that if it isn't that, he may want to try a psychiatrist.
He wakes up the next morning to find Steve parked outside his house. Steve is impressed with his place and Bishop explains he inherited a lot. Steve tries to convince him to let him in on his "action" Bishop takes Steve out in a plane, letting go of the controls and forcing Steve to take over, which he quickly does. At a bar later, Bishop explains that his father was a "Judge" who had the final word settling Organization disputes,until someone didn't like a decision and put a contract out on him, when Bishop was sill in school. Steve shares that his father never let him in on anything, although he wanted to know the business. Bishop lets him witness a karate match which turns pretty brutal. Steve remarks "He practically murdered that guy." and Bishop answers "Murder is only killing without a license and everybody kills, governments, the military, the police."
Steve: Do you think Yamato's a killer?
Bishop: He's a killer that doesn't kill. It's funny. No, for him, the rules are important.
Steve: That's your expert opinion?
Bishop: That's my opinion.
Steve points out that Bishop is being evasive about giving real answers. Bishop reminds him that he better be sure he wants the answers he's asking for. He asks Steve what he knows about the term "Mechanic" and Steve tells him it can be used as synonymous with hit man. Bishop reveals that's what he is and tells Steve that sometimes he could use a back up. Steve asks, "You do this for money?"
Bishop: Money is paid, but that's not the motive. It has to do with standing outside of it all, on your own.
He offers to teach Steve all he can, and confirming he's in, Steve says "You've got a partner Mr. Bishop." Bishop corrects him, "Associate."
Steve demonstrates an aptitude for the work and they start training for real. Going through a museum Bishop tells Steve "There are killers and there are killers, to tell you the truth they all have a different book of rules. To get away with it depends on the book of rules you have in your pocket at the time, your own country, somebody else's country, or your own personal book of rules. All this (waves at the museum figures) heroes, half of them are killers. Napoleon was one you know, Pancho Villa, Genghis Khan, and the we have our own domestic brand, like Billy the Kid, Jesse James and John Dillinger. Yeah, they're about as famous as our own honest to goodness heroes."
Bishop gets an assignment to kill three men, who are in the habit of riding around on dirtbikes, but live behind heavy security with constant guards on watch. Bishop includes Steve in the job, including the surveillance. Bishop surprises Steve by watching one of the men in a conversation via binoculars and reading their lips to discover a "Chicken Licken" truck set to arrive at the guarded compound for a delivery. Bishop finds vats of acid at a plating plant to dump the bodies afterwards. Steve and Bishop take the Chicken Licken truck and enter the compound. The hit is messy though and one of the men escapes forcing Bishop to chase the man on a dirtbike. Although the man ends up dead, the chase causes quite a commotion running through backyard parties and causing car accidents.
Bishop is called to meet with one of the Organization heads. He takes a plane to meet a chauffeured car which brings him to the estate. The man (Frank DeKova) is paining a leopard which he has tied in the yard. The man comments that the last job was very messy and asks about Harry McKenna's son and how he's involved in things. Bishop takes exception at the thought of having to ask permission. The man reminds him that there are rules in place which ensure the Organization survives, implying that Bishop has broken a rule.
He gives Bishop a new assignment saying it has to be done fast.
Bishop: I'll handle it the way I always do.
Man: There may not be time enough for that. The word is he's getting ready to talk to some people. The problem is considerable.
Bishop: I'm not some wild Cleveland shooter. I don't cowboy!
Man: If he talks, things could get complicated, sloppy. That would disturb a lot of us. It's not really open to discussion, Mr. Bishop. This business of McKenna's son has upset a few of our associates.
The man tells him that the target is in Naples, where they have him a room already.
Bishop gets home and heads to Steve's place. Finding Steve is out, he looks around and finds that Steve has taken a contract to kill him. He puts the papers back and goes home. When Steve shows up at Bishop's house later, he fills him in on the Naples job, telling him they want it "Cowboyed" He also tells Steve that he is nevertheless going to do it the way he's always done.
They head to Naples and start watching the target, discovering that the man is very unpredictable, rarely doing the same thing twice, with the exception of returning to his boat. Bishop shares a local wine with Steve, explaining that it doesn't travel well and they don't export it. He reminds Steve to savor it and the time he has. He also gives Steve advice about planning hits, telling him, "You've got to be dead sure, or dead." Bishop tells Steve he'll pick up some scuba gear and they'll use it to get on the boat undetected to kill the target. They succeed and Bishop plans an explosive before they leave. As they get off the boat, some Organization men show up after them in speedboats. They watch as the men get blown up with the boat. Steve asks who the men are and Bishop explains that they're Organization men, after him because he broke a rule by not asking them to start training him. More men show up soon, leading to a car chase. Bishop blows up a car chasing them and then sends an exploding car into a roadblock set for him, and pushes the last pursuing car off the mountain road with a bulldozer he finds on the side of the road.
Back at their room, Steve offers Bishop a glass of the local wine he likes. Steve watches with interest as Bishop has a sip. Bishop insects the glass himself suspiciously before picking up his bag to go, only to double over in pain. Steve says "Brucine! You'll be dead in a few minutes. Listen, you'll really appreciate this. This stuff is absolutely clear when it's in solution. I just coated the inside of the glass with it and let it dry. When the wine hit it it went right back into solution. No trace. Looks just like a heart attack." Bishop keeps struggling on the ground in agony. Steve continues "You said every man has his jelly spot. Yours was you just couldn't cut it alone."
Bishop: Was it because of your father?
Steve: You killed him? I thought he just died. You see? There you are. They told you who to hit. Kept the whole idea from being what we talked about. You needed a license, their license. I'm gonna pick my own mark, hit when I want. Just like you said, standing outside. See Naples and die."
Steve heads to Bishop's place, as if making it his own. He picks up the ball Bishop would squeeze to strengthen his fingers and then gets into his car and finds a note taped to his rear view mirror. We hear Bishop reading it to him " Steve, if you read this it means I didn't make it back. It also means you've broken a filament controlling a thirteen second delay trigger. End of game. Bang, you're dead."
What about it?
While "The Mechanic" could be accurately billed as an action film, it's a very thoughtful one, using the model of the hit man to ask some existential questions such as, what does it mean to "live outside?"The hit man is often used for questions like this. To it's credit the movie doesn't throw these questions at characters until we realize the questions suit them. The sub text is delivered beautifully suggesting the psychological scars of the lead characters, without putting the camera to them directly. Bronson's Bishop has many issues with family, relationships and society in general. We first hear his father mentioned when Harry describes the younger Bishop almost drowning. Harry remembers that the didn't cry or scream, just stared up at his father who didn't move a muscle to help. "That was a long time ago." Bishop answers to dismiss the story, but we wonder if Bishop has really put it behind him. He tells Steve that his father was a "judge." for the organization, and that he didn't talk about the Organization to him. When Steve compares their fathers suggesting that they were cowards, Bishop takes exception, claiming his father was "the best." He works for the Organization that his father helped build and has the same job as the man from Chicago who killed his father. When told he has to "cowboy" a hit, Bishop claims he's not a "wild Cleveland shooter." and we get a possible reason for his meticulous planning and methods, Cleveland not being too far from Chicago and possibly where his father's killer hailed from. Bishop possibly hopes he can be better at his job than the man who killed his father, which would finally give him some power in their relationship, or at least his idea of it. This also affords him the idea that he is "outside the system" to which his father was devoted.
Bishop's justifications for killing echo the question wrestled with by Rasalnikov from Dostoevsky's classic, "Crime and Punishment." which is reinforced when Bishop tells Steve that Napoleon was a killer, the same thought that Dostoevsky's character had and wrestled with. Like Dostoevsky's character, Bishop can't put himself in the same place that Napoleon did, we see it suggested that his physical problems are psychologically based and possibly due to the stress and guilt from making a living killing people. Bishop imagines himself outside the rules, yet must admit that everyone has rules, the distinction he makes is that some people have their own rule book.
"There are killers and there are killers, to tell you the truth they all have a different book of rules. To get away with it depends on the book of rules you have in your pocket at the time, your own country, somebody else's country, or your own personal book of rules. All this (waves at the museum figures) heroes, half of them are killers. Napoleon was one you know, Pancho Villa, Genghis Khan, and the we have our own domestic brand, like Billy the Kid, Jesse James and John Dillinger. Yeah, they're about as famous as our own honest to goodness heroes."
He speaks contemptuously of those who "need a license" to kill, but Steve appears correct when he accuses Bishop of using the Organization to provide a license for him, a fact which we can surmise Bishop himself must have considered, and possibly the reason he "broke the rules." and brought Steve in without asking permission. Despite his challenging tone to "the man" in the Organization, we know that Bishop has spent most of his life enforcing contracts on other's who broke these rules, so ignorance is not believable. This is supported by his lack of surprise, finding Steve has taken his contract. Ultimately, we have a man so lost in his own contradictions, that he is ready and willing to orchestrate his own death. His disconnection from life is also illustrated in his paying a hooker, to not only have sex with him, but to convincingly act the part of his disappointed girlfriend, as if he can forge human contact by emulating it.
While evaluating Steve, after watching Louise cut her wrist, Bishop tells him "It takes a very special kind of person to pick up the tab for that kind of living. You say you dig it, but you're talking about something you really know nothing about." We know that Bishop himself is wrestling with "the tab." Choosing Steve as his protege is not accidental, having parallels to his own story. We know that Steve's father once saved Bishop's life, and that Steve considers himself outside the rules. It's Steve that points out that they both live "in their minds." While on the surface, we don't see Bishop with any ethical compunctions about killing, we do sense that his disconnectedness is becoming to much to bear and training Steve may be an assertion of his humanity, the chance to let someone into his head. Bishop plays out his death perfectly, not tipping Steve off in any way that he knows he's planning to kill him. Even when after the last hit, the Organization miraculously arrives gunning for him, knowing that only Steve could have tipped them off, he doesn't show the least suspicion. His own death is in fact, necessary to build Steve's confidence in order for Bishop's hit on Steve to work. Bishop doesn't succeed at living but can succeed in dying "by his own rules."
This is a solid film by Michael Winner, who seemed well suited to bring out the best in Charles Bronson (also notably collaborating in Death Wish.) The opening sequence is brilliant and you become so involved in Bishop planning his hit that you don't realize you've witnessed 16 minutes without any dialogue whatsoever, as close as we can get to living in the character's mind. This paints the character beautifully and is particularly good for Bronson, an actor who acts with his stony face, more than with anything he says. Jan-Michael Vincent is great as Steven, a cocky kid, too full of himself for his own good. And it's also a treat to see Bronson with Jill Ireland, his longtime wife, although her part was small here. The action sequences are exciting and original, and this is as much an action film as it is a dramatic one, which is suitable for the questions it poses.
Bronson is great as a hitman and the term "Mechanic" suits him. his disconnected, technical approach to killing makes the taking of someone else's life an engineering problem, rather than a cruelty. He shows no emotion even when killing Harry, an old family friend who he remembers from childhood. Yet, we do get glimpses of emotion turning behind his eyes. He considers things obsessively, yet his stoic determination and adherence to his own rules puts any qualms at bay, yet, not completely enough that his subconscious lets him off the hook. He does, "live in his mind." but his longing for some sort of connection must be placated somehow.
"Be dead sure or be dead!" Bishop tells Steve, and this observation hits in a couple ways. Bishop is no longer sure about many things, and sees this as a logical choice, accepting the latter. Steve says he'll "Try to remember that" but Bishop tells him "Don't try. Remember." Steve doesn't have time to grasp the full meaning of the advice, and pays for it, his sudden explosive ending the only fitting reminder for not considering all the angles. "The Mechanic" examines the "tab" that must be picked up by those who think to "live outside." presenting it as an inevitable fact, which you will pay eventually, even if you're too skilled to be forced to pay it by anyone but yourself.
*There is a remake coming out shortly, directed by Simon West (Con Air) starring Jason Statham, Ben Foster, and Donald Sutherland. I'll be curious to see how it turns out but can't imagine it will top the original classic. Jason Stathams a solid action guy, but you can't compete with Bronson.
Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) is an architect, enjoying a day at the beach with his lovely wife,Joanna (Hope Lange) She isn't thrilled to be going home from vacation, and we soon discover that home is in the city. They get back into their life quick enough appearing to have a quiet and peaceful existence.
Once Paul gets back to work, he's greeted by news of crime rates by his co- workers. He discusses the situation calmly, making his position known.
Sam Kreutzer: You know, decent people are going to have to work here and live somewhere else.
Paul Kersey: By "decent people," you mean people who can afford to live somewhere else.
Sam Kreutzer: Oh Christ, you are such a bleeding-heart liberal, Paul.
Paul Kersey: My heart bleeds a little for the underprivileged, yes.
Sam Kreutzer: The underprivileged are beating our goddamned brains out. You know what I say? Stick them in concentration camps, that's what I say.
Joanna however, is not so lucky, and faces the crime problem much more personally when three young thugs, (including Jeff Goldblum) discreetly follow her home from the grocery store where she's spending time with her daughter, Carol Toby (Kathleen Tolan) Carol answers a knock at the door,and the thugs claim they have a grocery delivery, which she believes. They force themselves in as soon as the door opens and demand money. The two women are terrified and Joanna offers them Carol's purse. Angry that she only has four dollars, they start beating on Joanna, and sexually abusing Carol. They have no mercy at all, even spray painting Carol when they're done, then beating Joanna further. Carol calls her husband, Jack Toby (Steven Keats) when the thugs run off and he calls Paul at the office.
Paul and Jack meet at the hospital, the doctors tell them that Carol will be Okay, but they have her sedated. Paul isn't as lucky as they tell him Joanna has died. We find them next at the funeral, which happens during a snowstorm. Paul indicates he hasn't been home, and Carol seems to be barely aware of anything going on around her. Jack tries to talk him into staying with them, but Paul insists that it's time for him to go home. Paul stops at the police station and asks for the officer working on his case. They bring him to Lt. Briggs, who tells him what they know, asking if he can get his daughter to look at mug shots. He asks the Lt. about the chances.
Paul Kersey: Any chance of catching these men?
Lt. Briggs: There's a chance, sure.
Paul Kersey: Just a chance?
Lt. Briggs: I'd be less than honest if I gave you more hope, Mr. Kersey. In the city, that's the way it is.
Carol is still severely traumatized, shrieking in terror when Jack barely touches her. Paul looks out the window and sees some criminals running and seems to have an idea. He gets two rolls of quarters the next morning. At work, his boss offers to send him on an assignment to Arizona, for the change of scenery. Paul explains that he doesn't want to leave New York for a week or so. Paul visits Jack and Carol (who is constantly sedated and sleeping) He expresses concern to Jack that she's sleeping too much. Jack says they're following doctor's orders. and he has to take her for a change of scenery, which Paul can't be a part of, as he might remind her of her mother.
Paul starts walking the streets alone at night, looking for criminals. When a mugger attempts to rob him, Paul smacks the mugger with the quarters in a sock, sending him running away. He experiments with the quarters in the sock later and finds the sock breaks open easily. He then heads for Arizona, where he meets Aimes Jainchill (Stuart Margolin) who brings him to see a fake gunfight at a fake western town in Tucson. often used for movies. Paul gets along well with Aimes as they work on the building project together. Paul throws himself into the project staying until midnight, prompting Aimes to check on him. Aimes invites him to go to dinner at a gun club. Paul tells Aimes that he was a conscientious objector during the Korean War, which amuses Aimes.
Ames Jainchill: You're probably one of them knee-jerk liberals that thinks us gun boys would shoot our guns because it's an extension of our penises.
Paul Kersey: Never thought about it that way. It could be true.
Ames Jainchill: Well, maybe it is. But this is gun country.
Paul takes to the gun immediately, shooting a bulls eye dead center on his first try. He explains that he grew up with guns but hasn't touched one since his father died in a hunting accident years ago. Aimes is very pleased that Paul has respected his wishes while drawing up the project and he slips a present into Paul's bag which he's checking for the flight.
Jack meets him at the airport, and reveals that Carol has not gotten better and is now hospitalized and practically a vegetable. Paul blames Jack for handling it wrong, but Jack insists there's nothing else he can do. Paul starts going out for walks at night right away. He gets followed by a mugger with a gun and shoots him rather than give him money. He runs home and panics, throwing up in reaction.
The cops find the mugger dead and it reaches the newspapers. Paul's boss is happy with the project, but Paul's main interest is getting back out on the streets. He runs into a group of three criminals next, but one of them lives. He doesn't have any interest in giving the cops a description though. Visiting with Jack, Paul gets into a discussion prompted by Jack's resignation to being helpless.
Paul Kersey: Nothing to do but cut and run, huh? What else? What about the old American social custom of self-defense? If the police don't defense us, maybe we ought to do it ourselves.
Jack Toby: We're not pioneers anymore, Dad.
Paul Kersey: What are we, Jack?
Jack Toby: What do you mean?
Paul Kersey: I mean, if we're not pioneers, what have we become? What do you call people who, when they're faced with a condition or fear, do nothing about it, they just run and hide?
Jack Toby: Civilized?
Paul Kersey: No.
The police start making the vigilante their top priority, Detective Frank Ochoa (Vincent Gardenia) leads the efforts, directing them to search for people who've lost family members to muggers. and decided to tell the press they have leads, when they don't. Paul resumes his nightly strolls, trying the subway next and killing two more muggers who pull knives on him. He barely eludes the police who discover the bodies in the subway when people start screaming. Paul smiles, listening to a police press conference, begging the vigilante to turn himself in. The police deny a reporter's claim that mugging has gone down since the vigilante started working.
Paul goes out again. Killing another mugger, and wounding another, who manages to cut him. He escapes the police. The wounded mugger dies at the hospital but reveals that he cut the man who shot him. The news starts covering people who are standing up to muggers inspired by the vigilante. The police try to narrow down their list of suspects to a local area. Paul turns up on the list of suspects, but his status as a former conscientious objector makes them skeptical. Ochoa, even breaks into Paul's apartment while he's out for a walk and discovers a collection of articles and magazines on the vigilante case, as well as a bloody tissue. He takes the tissue, to match against the knife taken from the mugger. Before he can take things further, the District Attorney summons him for a meeting, informing Ochoa that they don't want him arrested or killed but they want him to stop. They reveal that mugging has gone down to an impossibly low level, which they can't reveal for fear of other vigilantes turning up. Ochoa is instructed to scare him off.
Ochoa calls Paul at the office and informs him that he's under surveillance. Ochoa directs a group of officers to stop and frisk him, while Ochoa is visible parked behind them. Paul sneaks out of the house, while the police are watching. and sneaks past Ochoa in the street, by hiding behind a group of people in Halloween costumes. Ocoa soon realizes Paul is gone and heads out to look for him. Paul heads back to the office to get his gun leaving just before Ochoa arrives. Paul hits the streets.
Paul soon ends up trapped on a stairway by a group of muggers. He shoots two of them and then chases the other two, shooting one and getting shot himself by the other. He continues chasing the last mugger, and when he catches up, points the gun at him and makes a John Wayne reference, saying "Fill your hand." The mugger doesn't get the reference, so Paul says "Draw" The mugger just looks confused, and Paul passes out before he can shoot the mugger. Police find him quickly, getting him into an ambulance. Ochoa takes Paul's gun and tells the responding officer to forget he saw it. Ochoa confronts Paul at the hospital and tells him that if he'll have the company transfer him to an office in another city, he'll drop the gun in the river. Paul responds,
"By sundown?"
Paul makes good on the agreement, arriving in Chicago, greeted by his new boss. He notices some punks hassling a woman and helps her pick up her bags that they knocked all over. He looks at the group smiles, while simulating, firing a gun with his thumb and pointer finger.
Death Wish is a movie which is definitely marked by the times it was made in. It's one of the first major films to show an average guy in a modern setting fighting back against violent criminals. It produced a good deal of debate, as rampant crime was a big concern in 1974 when it was released. The New York that Winner constructs here, is certainly exaggerated though. It's presented as inevitable that if someone walks along minding his business, a mugger will show up quickly. These circumstances that make it almost understandable to walk around armed and waiting to shoot. Paul Kersey, however, is excused even further, as he's cleaning up the streets out of revenge. I find it interesting that he never catches the thugs that killed his wife. Perhaps it's a dose of realism, or a statement that killing one mugger is as good as killing another.
This is the movie that made Charles Bronson a household name. The real pleasure is watching him proceed stoically in his long coat, rarely changing expression. He doesn't throw out snappy one liners, just waits for the crime and executes. He's efficient, and once he commits, unyielding, eventually you could say he's addicted to the killing, as he couldn't stop himself from going out even under surveillance. He's not flashy, but he is believable as a character who could turn from a "bleeding heart liberal" to a merciless vigilante simply by changing his mind. All of the decisions occur in his head. He doesn't need to explain them, he's a man who trusts in his own authority. The saying "you've got to look out for the quiet ones" could have been made with Bronson in mind. The whole story is told in those impossibly resolute eyes.
Death Wish has certainly had a major impact on movies since. The "man who's pushed too far" is a regular staple now, but it all started here, at least in a non Western setting. Winner directs efficiently, getting us into the story as quickly as possible. I believe Kersey's wife is killed within the first ten minutes. We get right to where we're going. He does a good job showing just the right amount of information, so that we never feel that Kersey is a mad dog. Each time we watch the crime, the revenge, and Kersey walking away. The score is terrific as well, which is a result of having Herbie Hancock do it. It fits well in the movie, enhancing but never overpowering. With everything that happens to Kersey, you might think that this is a movie about sadness, but it isn't, although the sadness is there, it's all about action. Kersey knows he'll never find the right muggers, but he has to do something. He thinks like an architect, not a hit man. I can find a lot of holes in the film's message, but I personally view the message as purely a reason to get Charles Bronson where he needs to be. In this world I'll cheer for the vigilante, but Death Wish a long way from the real world.
as there are certainly some stories that ask to be "modernized" Obviously for studios it's a dollars problem, easier and safer to market a name that's already known and possibly loved than risking a lot of time, money and effort familiarizing us with a product that we may just choose to reject for whatever reason. It is a business after all, so that makes sense. So, I watched the recent remake of "The Mechanic" with as open a mind as possible, considering I loved the 1972 Michael Winner original starring Mr. Charles Bronson. I did a full look at that one in a past entry here: 
Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) is an architect, enjoying a day at the beach with his lovely wife,Joanna (Hope Lange) She isn't thrilled to be going home from vacation, and we soon discover that home is in the city. They get back into their life quick enough appearing to have a quiet and peaceful existence.