Death Sentence

Based on Brian Garfield's sequel to his controversial revenge fantasy Death Wish, this anachronistic thriller is a pretty cheesy star vehicle for Kevin Bacon, who seems ill at ease playing Nick Hume, a middle-aged, middle-class man who turns vigilante after his family is victimized by a gang of thugs led by sociopathic Billy Darley (Garrett Hedlund). When his beautiful wife (Kelly Preston) is murdered, Nick disregards the advice of police detective Wallis (an oddly cast Aisha Tyler), and takes the law into his own hands. Directed by Saw's James Wan, Death Sentence predictably injects plenty of gore into the proceedings, especially after Hume abandons the moral high ground and descends into the sewer with his antagonists. At that point, any resemblance between Bacon's character and Charles Bronson's from 1974's Death Wish goes right down the drain, and Wan's opus turns into a low-rent Taxi Driver. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include the Fox Movie Channel presentations “Life After Film School with Kevin Bacon” (26 min.) and “Making a Scene” (10 min.), 10 “Webisodes” segments (18 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a so-so extras package for a disappointing film.] (E. Hulse)