When I saw this film years ago on television in a heavily censored version I didn't think much of it at all; it felt scuzzy, cheap, a dullish retread of the original. Seeing it today in its uncut form, I think time has been kind to it and it's a decent movie in its own right. The rape scenes are problematic and far too graphic for their own good, but the rest is a taut, well-directed thriller. Winner's use of shadow and the setting of the real-life scuzzy streets of Los Angeles works a treat and Bronson's taciturn hero is more impassive than ever. A bleak, nihilistic and gruelling slice of action from the heart of the 1980s, and as gritty as it gets.
Review of Death Wish II
