Death Wish II (1982)

Architect Paul Kersey once again becomes a vigilante when he tries to find the five street punks who murdered his daughter and housekeeper, this time on the dark streets of Los Angeles.

Director:

Michael Winner

Writers:

David Engelbach, Brian Garfield (characters)

Stars:

Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Vincent Gardenia

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charles Bronson	...	Paul Kersey
Jill Ireland	...	Geri Nichols
Vincent Gardenia	...	Det. Frank Ochoa
J.D. Cannon	...	New York D.A.
Anthony Franciosa	...	Herman Baldwin
Ben Frank	...	Inspector Lt. Mankiewicz
Robin Sherwood	...	Carol Kersey
Silvana Gallardo	...	Rosario
Robert F. Lyons	...	Fred McKenzie
Michael Prince	...	Elliott Cass
Drew Snyder	...	Deputy Comm. Hawkins
Paul Lambert	...	New York Police Comm.
Thomas F. Duffy	...	Nirvana (as Thomas Duffy)
Kevyn Major Howard	...	Stomper
Stuart K. Robinson	...	Jiver

Storyline

Paul Kersey, the vigilante, now lives in LA with his daughter, who is still recovering from her attack. He also has a new woman in his life. One day while with them, Kersey is mugged by some punks, Kersey fights back, but they get away. The leader, wanting to get back at Kersey, goes to his house, but Kersey and his daughter Carol are not there. The muggers rape his housekeeper, and when Kersey and his daughter arrive, they knock him out and kidnap her. After they assault her, she leaps out of a window to her death. Kersey then grabs his gun and goes after them. When the LA authorities, deduce they have a vigilante, they decide to consult with New York, who had their vigilante problem. Now the New York officials, knowing that Kersey lives in LA, fears that he's back to his old habit. Fearing that Kersey, when caught will reveal that they let him go instead of prosecuting him send Inspector Ochoa to make sure that doesn't happen.

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Plot Keywords:

vigilante | rape | punk | fight | murder | 

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Taglines:

Bronson's loose again in Death Wish II

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 February 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Death Wish 2

Filming Locations:

Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery - 1831 W. Washington Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cannon Films, City Films, Golan-Globus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min 95 min (uncut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film introduced significant changes for the character of Paul Kersey. One involved his modus operandi as a vigilante. In the original film, Kersey would shoot and kill every criminal in his vicinity. In the sequel, he is after five specific criminals who are responsible for the death of his daughter. His single-minded pursuit extends to ignoring other potential targets. He is seen to mostly ignore thieves, drug dealers, and one violent pimp. Another change involves his abilities. In the first film, his activities as a vigilante rely only on his use of weapons. In the sequel he is able to beat up men considerably younger than himself.

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Goofs

When Paul Kersey is first mugged for his wallet, they are all in an outdoor market area with Spanish architecture and smaller buildings. When we see Kersey chase after Jiver and corner him in an alley, they now appear to be in a downtown location with traditional high-rise buildings.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Elliott Cass: Are you free tomorrow, Paul?
Paul Kersey: Of course. What else would I be doing?
[we hear several gunshots on Skid Row and the end credits roll]

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Connections

Referenced in Zeg 'ns Aaa: Eventjes dan (1988)

User Reviews

"Do you believe in Jesus?"

"Yes," says the crying thug, knowing his last breathing second on this planet has come. Bronson replies: "Now you'll get to meet him," and blows a hole in his chest! This scene found me laughing in disbelief, shocked and horrified over what the Paul Kersey-character has become, and at the same time impressed that somebody actually dared to make this stuff more than 20 years ago, and even starring one of the biggest movie-stars in the world!

This once bleedin' heart liberal family man has for sure turned into a messenger of death, with about as much mercy for the criminals as a hungry stray cat has for a limp mouse! It's shocking to watch, but at the same time fascinating because the whole movie looks great, the atmosphere gets under your skin, and you still find yourself rooting for Bronson's character.

This is still the best of the "Death Wish"-sequels, and it still packs a wallop and manages to stir controversy even today. It's a movie you will either like or hate, there is no middle road here, and it makes for a great conversation piece.

One final note: this movie sure is a reminder and evidence that when it came to movie tough-guys Charles Bronson WAS the baddest of them all. After the sad news of Bronson's passing a lot of people say he was second behind Clint Eastwood as far as action icons go. I'm a huge Eastwood-fan but Bronson still beats him any day. It really hit me as I was watching this movie. Bronson is driving through down-town Los Angeles, after brutally executing the thug in the above mentioned scene, he passes a movie-theater and sees a guy pretending to be a cowboy outside the theater, and what is the double-billing at the theater? Those silly comedies with Clint Eastwood and that big monkey Clyde!

That kinda' sums it up doesn't it?

Charles Bronson was THE MAN.