"Death Sentence" Review - Written by TonyD

"Death Sentence”
2007
**** out of ****
Director: James Wan
Cast: Kevin Bacon, Garrett Hedlund, Kelly Preston


James Wan previously directed the “horror” film “Dead Silence.” It turned out to be a complete and udder-disaster. Where the acting was so bad that it hurt and tongues hung out of mouths like my ex girlfriend’s, one could say that after that film, it looks like James Wan’s career would have been just about over… And did I mention that was until the fantastic “Death Sentence” that he finally got his career back on board? Okay, so maybe you DIDN’T like it, but tell me why you didn’t. Was it because all of the “loose-ends” weren’t together? Was it because the characters were phony? Or how about the Scientologist Kelly Preston playing a Christian lady? Wait… I got one… is it because that it holds no regrets?

See, “Death Sentence” is one of those films that would kill anyone and everyone that stands in its way. It shoots like Clive Owen and kills like Javier Bardem. It makes pussies look strong and strong men look like pussies. But after you can get over the fact that the film is a simple revenge flick, you might have to get over the fact that it is directed by James Wan, who is most famous for directing the original “Saw” (and oh boy, do I HATE using the word ‘original’ when I describe Hollywood). No matter how inconsistent the guy is, “Death Sentence” is an excellent way to leave the horror genre and do something else with his film career.

Before I begin, I must let you know that if you are thinking that this is just a review from me that includes little spoilers and you want to see the film, stop your reading. This is not my usual review. This is one of those times where I must analyze the film. Not like those film philosophers that compare shit to Plato and Socrates, but when I look at the film and describe how it can change someone’s life. “Death Sentence” is more than a revenge flick. From what I’m about to tell you, you can accurately describe it as one step to stop what you’re doing and let the world know that you are done taking its shit.

The Hume family was once a perfect family. Nick (Kevin Bacon) is a successful businessman, Helen (Kelly Preston) is a principal at a high-school, Brendan (Stuart Lafferty) is a great hockey player with a successful future, and Lucas (Jordan Garrett) is a talented artist. I say that they once were a perfect family because one night after a hockey game, Nick and Brendan stop at a gas station. While Nick is pumping gas and Brendan is inside buying a slushee, a group of men come shooting in with guns. Brendan is killed by one of the men with a machete. The men take off while Nick cries for help.

The man who killed his son (Matt O’Leary) is now arrested, and there is without a doubt that the guy will be given three to five years with parole… but that’s not good enough. Nick wants the guy to be locked up for the rest of his life. His lawyer informs him that there were no witnesses present and there was no camera in the gas station where his son was killed. Detective Wallis (Aisha Tyler) breaks the news that it wasn’t a robbery, but it rather was a gang initiation. He drops charges, follows the guy who killed his son, and kills him. The leader of the gang, Billy, (Garrett Hedlund) promises revenge for killing his brother. He lets Nick that he has bought his family a death-sentence.

One of the biggest complaints that I have heard about this film is that while he’s trying to protect his family, he only makes it worst. His other son is laying in a coma and his wife is dead. That means that all of you guys have clearly missed the point here. The film is more than just revenge. It’s about much more than just that. It’s about fear, about how covering your family may be covering too much, about life being unfair. It’s about being pushed to the edge, not being able to think about your actions before doing them. You think what you are doing is right, but when it starts affecting the ones around you, you know that you fucked up. I think Dave Chappelle said it best in the sketch entitled “When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong.”

But there is something else that the film has that many seem to forget about after seeing bullets go flying for a good part of the film. The film contains a lot of emotion. There’s about a ten minute period throughout the film where the Hume family grieves over the death of Brendan. I can honestly say that I cried during these ten minutes just because how much they show the emotion. You don’t expect a movie about revenge being so much about emotion instead of being so much about shooting people up. And about a half an hour later, Billy becomes emotional with his own brother’s death.

Unlike the Hume family, which results in a lot of tears and flashbacks, Billy becomes frustrated, and taking the death out on the members of the gang. He even tells his gang to stop grieving over his death and start doing something about it. He picks up a newspaper, finds Hume, and we enter one of the best chase sequences that I’ve seen since the freeway scene in “The Matrix Reloaded.” There is a long two minute scene without a cut where Bacon’s character jumps on cars to get them to allow their alarms to go off, trying to confuse the gang members that are chasing him. This is one of the most interesting scenes that I’ve seen in a long time because I’m still surprised that a man like Bacon can run that much in a single take.

While I’m sure everyone is already aware of the amazing performance of Kevin Bacon, I know that none of you know about Garrett Hedlund, and I’m not surprised by that fact. He previously played in “Friday Night Lights” upon playing this role, and he really outdoes himself. His character evokes so much emotion so while he thinks he is acting tough, he really isn’t. “Death Sentence” will be Hedlund’s breakout role into the public, and the man will get much more roles after this one.

“Death Sentence” is still one of the best films of ‘007, and after typing this, I can’t stress it enough. GO rent or blind-buy the movie. Don’t be a cooch. Just… fucking… do… it…