The love that Fish & Spaghetti has for the most tragic moments of Paul Kersey's life is pretty well documented. So it should come as no surprise that I've also got love for Death Wish II where things go horribly astray. Again.
After the events in the original Death Wish, Paul and his daughter Carol (who's still catatonic after her rape in part one) set up shop in L.A. Paul's trying to lead a normal life and even has a regular job and a new girlfriend. It's an idyllic life, I mean except for the part about his daughter still being catatonic after an attack that also claimed the life of his wife.
Anyway, naturally things turn bad. There's a mugging, a home invasion, a couple of rapes and eventually Carol's death. Unsurprisingly Paul goes into vigilante mode.
But the film is pretty awesome for a couple of reasons. First and foremost it's one of those movies that Roger Ebert gave zero stars to. He thought it was that bad.
It's also one of the most controversial Death Wish flicks because of the supremely graphic home invasion sequence. It's graphic enough and been edited so many times that cineastes are constantly on the prowl for an uncut version. It's graphic nature isn't awesome, but the controversy is.
Death Wish II's awesomeness also stems from the fact it's actually a pretty solid sequel. I mean you see Paul and it follows up on the events of the first flick and expands upon them. Plus it ties up some loose ends left by the first one.
Plus there's all of the movie gang member names. Seriously. Lawrence Fishburne pops up at Cutter. Then there's Jiver, Stomper and Punkut. And who could forget Nirvana? Is there a more menacing gang name than Nirvana?
I highly recommend catching this flick. Rumor has it it's currently making the cable rounds.
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