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Movies / On DVD / Death Sentence
Death Sentence

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Death Sentence (2007)

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Reviews Counted:107

Fresh:21

Rotten:86

Average Rating:4.1/10

Consensus: A nonsensical plot and an absurd amount of violence make this revenge pic gratuitous and overwrought.

Rated: 18 [See Full Rating] for strong bloody brutal violence and pervasive language.

Runtime: 2 hrs

Genre: Action, Gangs, Thriller, Theatrical Release, Violence, Revenge

Theatrical Release:31-08-2007

Synopsis: A white-collar revenge fantasy in the vein of DEATH WISH (and based on a novel by the same author, Brian Garfield), DEATH SENTENCE ponders the nature and limits of retribution, asking if murder can... A white-collar revenge fantasy in the vein of DEATH WISH (and based on a novel by the same author, Brian Garfield), DEATH SENTENCE ponders the nature and limits of retribution, asking if murder can ever be justified. Director James Wan (SAW) delivers a high-end exploitation film, complete with a washed-out, grainy appearance and some startling violence, but with complex, thrilling action sequences. Kevin Bacon is Nick Hume, a successful businessman with two children and a lovely wife (Kelly Preston). While driving home from his older, college-bound son's hockey game, Nick must pull into a gas station in a tough part of town. When the boy goes into the store to buy a drink, his throat is slit during a bloody robbery attempt. Nick identifies the killer, but with him as the only witness, the case is unable to go to trial. Discovering that the murder was merely a gang initiation, Nick is pushed over the edge, taking on the deadly gang headed by the fierce Billy Darley (Garrett Hedlund). Payback becomes all-encompassing for Nick: it not only takes over his life, but it also causes a startling physical transformation. Wan forgoes emotional impact in favor of souped-up, visceral, and occasionally thrilling setpieces. Bacon makes Nick's transformation from a suburban, suit-and-tie family man into a gaunt, shaved-headed angel of death startling and believable. Full of interesting contradictions, DEATH SENTENCE lets viewers have it both ways--fulfilling their bloodlust while ensuring that Nick's targets are despicable people who deserve their fates. Ultimately, though it serves to remind us that, as a solution, violence only begets more violence. [More]

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Garrett Hedlund, Kelly Preston, Aisha Tyler

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Garrett Hedlund, Kelly Preston, Aisha Tyler, John Goodman, Jordan Garrett, Stuart Lafferty, Edi Gathegi, Matthew O'Leary, Leigh Whannell, Hector Atreyu Ruiz

Director: James Wan

Director: James Wan
Screenwriter: Ian Jeffers
Producer: Ashok Amritraj, Howard Baldwin, Karen Baldwin
Composer: Charlie Clouser
Studio: 20th Century Fox

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Reviews for Death Sentence

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Goofy overstatement, improbable plotting and an overwrought finale.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
08/31/07
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Death Sentence seesaws wildly between being both brilliant and terrible, but ultimately it's worth seeing for some terrific action sequences and Bacon's committed performance.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
08/31/07
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Initially, it calls to mind recent events in the UK - but in truth, it's more like a new-fangled B-movie than a treatise for our troubled times.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
08/31/07
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
This is London

By the end, many will be outraged by the sheer irresponsibility of it all. The rest will be too busy laughing.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
08/31/07
Elliott Noble
Elliott Noble
Sky Movies

Kevin Bacon fails to rescue this absurdly rickety plot as the film veers between a sentimental melodrama and violent thriller, resulting in a confused mess.

Full Review Source: thelondonpaper | comment Comment
08/31/07
Ed Andrews
Ed Andrews
thelondonpaper

Sadly, the final reel exposes Wan's true colours (he directed the horror movie Saw), the vigilante machismo betraying this as an updated version of Death Wish.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
08/31/07
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

Literally laughable.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
08/31/07
David Gritten
David Gritten
Daily Telegraph
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Lurches on too long and topples into bathos.

Full Review Source: Financial Times | comment Comment
08/31/07
Martin Hoyle
Martin Hoyle
Financial Times

Only drinking a pint of paint-stripper would leave a nastier taste in the mouth.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment 1 Comment
08/31/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Finally, the costly price you pay for watching Death Sentence is the 105 minutes that you’re never going to get back and that could have been spent doing something more constructive, such as beating your head against a brick wall.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment 1 Comment
08/31/07
Kevin Maher
Kevin Maher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A film so uncertain about its tone and sensibilities that it just doesn't work. If Wan and screenwriter Ian Jeffers had just embraced the ridiculous retribution-based violence, it might have been more entertaining, albeit odious.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
08/31/07
Daniel Etherington
Daniel Etherington
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

From the novelist who spawned Death Wish (1974) comes another story of vigilante justice that'll make you want to hurt someone. Anyone.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
08/31/07
Stella Papamichael
Stella Papamichael
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A father goes on an angry mission of revenge after his family are attacked as part of a gang initiation crime.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
08/31/07
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a gritty, adrenaline-soaked thriller -- and if that's as deep as you care to dig, you'll be entertained. But for those who care to contemplate, it's quite a bit more.

Full Review Source: Times-Picayune | comment Comment
10/09/09
Mike Scott
Mike Scott
Times-Picayune

It's a powerful, visceral revenge flick, and Kevin Bacon does a fine acting job bringing the vigilante to life.

Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | comment Comment
08/17/08
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jonathan Kiefer
Jonathan Kiefer
Sacramento News & Review

A gritty and gripping revenge fantasy %u2026 Kevin Bacon's talent and persona to make us sit up and take notice

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
04/26/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Death Sentence is a laughably bad exercise in the pornography of sadism and the American appetite which voraciously consumes it.

Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | comment Comment
02/28/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com

This Sentence is as grisly and violent as the trailer portends.

Full Review Source: Washington Times | comment Comment
02/04/08
Christian Toto
Christian Toto
Washington Times

I really enjoyed what [it] had to offer with takes on morals, war, and the damage violence can do to people in its grasp...

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
01/18/08
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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