By design, all revenge movies are fairly predictable—an injustice takes place, the protagonist sets out to right wrong with some vigilantism and somebody dies to “balance the equation.” The point of these movies is to use the predictable frame as a vehicle for over-the-top action and cheesiness, or in the case of “Death Sentence,” as a parable for how exacting personal revenge is not only personally damaging, but is part of an escalating cycle of violence.
Despite the interesting questions the film raises on the nature of revenge, sloppy filmmaking ultimately leaves the moviegoer trying to keep up as the film sprints to a truncated close.
In “Death Sentence,” Kevin Bacon stars as Nick Hume, a senior something-or-other at a risk analysis firm. Hume is a white-collar breadwinner for a family of four, something the film painstakingly lays out in the first act through a sequence of staged family videos and scene after scene of suburban normalcy, right down to the sibling squabbles and fatherly scolding.
The film takes a dark turn when Hume’s oldest son, Brendan, is brutally murdered as part of a gang initiation. When the system can’t put the murderer away, Hume opts to tip the scales of justice himself, tracking down and killing the young gang-banger. This starts a vicious cycle of revenge that escalates to the point of costing both Hume and the head of the gang, Billy Darley, everything they hold dear.
In Hume’s case, it even costs him himself—as Billy puts it, by the end of the film, he just looks like another bloodthirsty gangmember.
“Saw” director James Wan manages to bring the same gritty feeling to “Death Sentence” that gave all of Jigsaw’s traps their legitimacy. The dank hangouts of the film’s underworld look sinister and almost unearthly.
The action sequences look great, really capturing the essence of the scene through some interesting camera work and contrasts between white-collar and gang-infested areas of the film world. The chase through the parking garage would be great on its own, but the added contrasts of white-collar and urban waste adds a whole new layer of very different fighters in the same war.
The script is solid too, albeit a bit cheesy at times. No one in this film needed to utter the words “death sentence.” The film didn’t have enough of a sense of humor to get away with it. Audiences will also see a solid performance from Bacon, who by the end of the film seems almost possessed with the hatred caused by the poison of vengeance.
John Goodman even pops in for an enjoyable little role as an arms dealer.
However, the finale really unravels much of what makes the film sound great on paper. Until the last 20 minutes, the characters are fairly believable, the few action sequences are very realistic and gripping and the film appears to be drawing out some interesting questions on the nature of revenge. The last act favors over-the-top action, discarding characterization, plot and substance. The film is weighed down squarely in mediocre territory by the sloppy execution in its finale.
