Death Wish 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Death Wish 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Death Wish is an action-packed revenge thriller rebooting and remaking the hit 1974 motion-picture directed by Michael Winner and starring Charles Bronson. Based on the novel by Brian Garfield, the remake is produced by Roger Birnbaum (Thanksgiving, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy). The film is executive produced by Ilona Herzberg (A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting, We Bought a Zoo). Death Wish stars Bruce Willis, Elisabeth Shue, Camila Morrone, Vincent D'Onofrio, Dean Norris, Beau Knapp, and Kimberly Elise.

Paul Kersey (Bruce Willis) serves his city as an Emergency Room Doctor. Working in the ER night after night, Dr. Kersey sees the shocking and violent aftermath of the chaotic crimes committed within his community. Things become that much more harrowing for Paul after his beloved wife Lucy Kersey (Elisabeth Shue) and college daughter Jordan Kersey (Camila Morrone) become the victims of a dangerous home invasion in which the lives of his wife and daughter are both threatened.

The unexpected attack leaves PTSD scars for his family – especially his daughter. Determined to seek revenge, Paul decides he can’t trust law enforcement to take care of things for him and he becomes a vigilante of justice determined to take out the criminals himself. Bodies of violent criminals begin to mount up across the city. Can Paul find solace and justice on his own and get revenge against every criminal who attacked his family?

Bruce Willis is in top-form in the remake. The performance is one that showcases his dedication to action roles when he is on-game. Willis certainly has a lot of fun with the role and enjoys playing someone who is a vigilante of justice and there are some great moments for the actor to shine throughout the film. The supporting cast does a good job, too. Elisabeth Shue is convincing in her role and adds some suspense with her performance during the home-invasion sequences. Camila Morrone delivers a strong supporting performance as the tough-willed and beautiful daughter of Willis. Morrone certainly showcased a good acting range for her part.

The production has some excellent aesthetic elements. The production design by Paul Kirby (Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Jason Bourne) is superb and looks great throughout the film. The production feels larger in scope and budget and this adds to the energy of the filmmaking. The art direction by Veronique Meunier (Dark Phoenix, X-Men: Apocalypse) adds some unique visual flair to the filmmaking, too. As do the costumes by Mary Jane Fort (Bring It On, Ouija), befitting the cast of characters – both the heroes and the villains.

The cinematography by Rogier Stoffers (The House with a Clock in Its Walls, School of Rock) is one of the most rewarding parts of the film. Death Wish has a compelling visual style and the cinematography is a significant part of the reason the film plays as well as it does. The lighting and visual cues within the cinematography help to make this a tense thriller and one that looks sleek and sophisticated for the genre.

The score composed by Ludwig Göransson (Black Panther, Tenet) adds tension and excitement to the filmmaking. The score builds suspense and drama during the home invasion and the action-packed sequences. The music finds ways to explore these characters and their journey with muscle. A solid score by Göransson.

Edited by Mark Goldblatt (Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Halloween II), Death Wish maintains a tense pace and sense of rhythm throughout the film. The editing was solid and there is a lot to appreciate about the cutting. Goldblatt did a solid job with the material.

Written by Joe Carnahan (Narc, Smokin’ Aces), Death Wish is more fun than expected and it has a reasonably strong script for a action-thriller. While not a total home run, Carnahan was an excellent choice for the project and he brings his unique sense of style as seen in other crime-thrillers written by Carnahan. There is some subtle and not-so-subtle social commentary without being the main point of the film, which remembers to simply have fun with the characters and the revenge plotline.

Directed by Eli Roth (Thanksgiving, Cabin Fever), Death Wish is a solid action film and a good showcase for the strengths of Roth as a filmmaker. Roth made a fun remake and there are some great scenes in Death Wish to showcase the acting chops of star Bruce Willis. Though Death Wish might not be peak Roth (with films like Cabin Fever and Thanksgiving being better showcases for the director), the film is still a lot of fun and works well for genre fans.

Death Wish 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on 4K UHD by Shout Factory, Death Wish is presented in 2160p HEVC / H.265 4K UHD in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1 widescreen. The 4K UHD presentation provides a HDR10 and Dolby Vision grade. The HDR10 grade is the industry standard and the Dolby Vision metadata will be used on compatible displays. The 4K presentation is excellent with great clarity and detail on the release. In some respects, the 4K presentation might seem to only offer a slight uptick in quality. However, Death Wish fans seeking the absolute best video quality will find the release to be a worthwhile one with higher bit-rates and a slightly more refined image. The HDR is the biggest selling point – adding some nice depth to the image while it showcases both the brightest whites and deepest blacks within the image spectrum.

The Death Wish 4K UHD provides an outstanding 84.62 mbps bit-rate encode – significantly higher than what is provided by streaming video services (which offer a reduced bit-rate with more compression). Physical media provides an even better viewing option compared to streaming by a wide margin and anyone who values the best possible presentation quality will consider the physical 4K release outstanding. An excellent 4K release by Shout Factory and one well worth consideration.

Death Wish 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo. The release sounds great with excellent lossless surround sound audio. The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is enormously engaging and offers an outstanding sense of detail and depth. The LFE is well utilized on the release and the soundstage certainly roars during the action scenes. The score is also crisp and engaging on the release. The presentation is superb – even without Atmos audio provided fans should be enormously pleased with the presentation. It is worth reminding fans that streaming video platforms provide only lossy (non-lossless) audio for film presentations and to get true audiophile quality sound one must consider the physical media options. Death Wish benefits a lot from the lossless audio encoding and any streaming option should pale by comparison.  

Death Wish 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Audio Commentary with Director Eli Roth and Producer Roger Birnbaum

Deleted Scenes (HD, 6:13) showcasing some scenes cut from the final version of the feature-film.

Deleted Scenes with Audio Commentary by Eli Roth and Roger Birnbaum (HD, 6:13)

Vengeance and Vision: Directing Death Wish (HD, 11:44) explores the making of Death Wish.

Extended Scenes (HD, 6:33)

Alternate Trailer (HD, 2:07)

Theatrical Trailers (HD, 4:39)

TV Spots (HD, 1:03)

Death Wish 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Death Wish is a fun and action-packed revenge thriller. A worthwhile remake of the 1974 classic starring Charles Bronson, the remake stars Bruce Willis as a vigilante seeking justice for the home invasion of his family. Directed by Eli Roth (Thanksgiving), Death Wish kicks things into high-gear with superb action. A great showcase for Willis. The 4K UHD features excellent 2160p 4K video and lossless audio. There is a decent selection of supplements included on the release as well. The release provides a modest and appreciable upgrade for fans of Death Wish seeking the absolute best presentation to eek out every detail in the image. Recommended.