Bullet Points: Death Kiss
Holy shit! It’s time for some Charlie Bronson look-alike vengeful killings! I’ve been pumped for the US release of Rene Perez’s Death Kiss since I saw the first photos of star Robert Kovacs Bronzi some time ago. Any self-described fan of the original Paul Kersey owes it to him/herself to at least take a look at the trailer. I’ve been watching action movies for 30+ years and Charles Bronson has been dead for the last 15 of those. While I never expected to see an actor embody the character of Paul Kersey like he did, I can say, without question, that Robert Bronzi certainly looks the part.
Synopsis: Robert Kovacs Bronzi is the nameless face of justice in Death Kiss! Bronzi takes crime head-on as he wanders the streets, revolver in hand, looking to unveil his own brand of justice.
- Bronzi to the rescue: The movie doesn’t waste any time showing us exactly what the next 87 mins is going to be like. The Stranger that I’ll just call Bronzi from here on, wanders around the city running into a serious amount of criminal activity. Like any good vigilante, he does show some restraint when needed. He doesn’t just kill every law breaker that he finds.
- The Real Crimes:Daniel Baldwin plays talk radio host Dan Forthright. His part is crucial to the movie. He breaks out into a long tirade about “real crimes” compared to the ones that the media is focused on. He specifically gets into how much we talk about racism while talking very little about child sex trafficking and other crimes that destroy lives. He’s ends his first appearance by asking simply, “who’s gonna protect us?”
- Hot Mom gettin’ paid: Eva Hamilton keeps getting envelopes full of money in her mailbox. It’s a problem that we all wish we had. Her character gets so much more fleshed out than I expected. She’s not just a pretty face (although she is extremely attractive). She adds an incredible amount of depth to not only her character, but also to Bronzi’s mostly silent avenger.
- Street crime is a disease: While the film follows closely with Bronzi’s mission, you know, walking around and getting into shootouts with drug dealers and thieves. It’s best moments are the ones where we learn exactly WHY Bronzi is so adamant that crime needs to be stopped. We don’t just see the crime being committed. We see the results of those crimes. We see the addicts battling their addictions, the children suffering from their parents actions, and the guilt that follows along with those that have committed atrocities themselves. It all adds as great filler to the gruesome and bloody gun battles.
- Kindergarten Cop Baddie: It took about two seconds before I recognized Kindergarten Cop actor Richard Tyson. He looks great and sounds exactly the same as he did 30 years ago. He ends up filling the role of the “main bad guy” for a film that rarely spends much time focusing on one specific bad guy. In the short time he spends on screen he pretty much does all the bad.
- Trust me: Eva Hamilton’s character Ana shows way more trust in a nameless stranger carrying a bunch of cash and guns around than anyone ever should. I would say that the chances of a “normal” person dropping thousands of dollars in cash in your mailbox each week are very slim. Even with her paralyzed daughter rolling around the house, Ana is desperate to find out more about “Mr. K” and to somehow come to terms with her own failures as a person and a mother.
- An eye for an eye: The radio narration is perfect for this movie. Bronzi doesn’t say much but all of his actions are being spoken in a hot microphone by Daniel Baldwin’s talk radio host. The action really picks up towards the end as we learn some of the motives of the characters involved and we finally see a showdown between Bronzi and Richard Tyson. My first reaction watching the scene was that this has to be the least accurate gun battle in movie history. The men involved fire wildly at each other for ages before they finally hit their marks. It became almost comical by the end, but like any true hero, Bronzi doesn’t skip out on the brutality or the justice.
The Verdict: Death Kiss isn’t some fresh take on the vigilante film genre where the hero goes viral and becomes a social media star. It’s a movie that takes the same principles of the original and drags them into the 21st century. Other than a cell phone or two, nothing about this movie even dates it to a present day film. It could have easily come out the year following Death Wish V and no one would have known the difference. What works best for Death Kiss, I would say, is that it’s completely self aware. It knows its strengths and its weaknesses and plays to them. Bronzi looks amazing. He’s more than I hoped he would be as a fill in for the real deal. But, he is also able to do well enough during the non-killing times to keep the movie moving forward. It’s not a reboot or a remake, and it’s not just a homage to the original Death Wish series. Death Kiss is a continuation of everything that action fans love about those movies and it’s absolutely worth your time.
