Death Wish is a vigilante classic that always gets a hearty mention when a new vigilante thriller like John Wick appears, but surprisingly I have yet to see it even if I seem to 'know' the movie like an old friend. The story is simple - Paul Kesey's wife died and his daughter traumatized by a savage home invasion by hoodlums. The man then becomes the judge, jury and executioner of a seedy New York City overrun by gangsters and thieves, becoming a hero for the city's citizens and the bane of NYC's police force. All the featured hoodlums overact (watch a young Jeff Goldblum do the crazy) and they are all painted in broad strokes. The movie glorifies violence to the Ying Yang and the solution is overly simplified for a hot-button issue, but I can't help myself from enjoying every minute of it. One of the things the movie does very well is how it paints Charles Bronson's character arc. His motivation and learning curve are slowly defined to amazing lucidity. The film also plays to Bronson's strength as a taciturn man with few words. I also enjoyed the cat and mouse game in the last act. One interesting thought at the back of mine is that the film somehow feels like it was suggesting that owning a gun is a symbol of manhood and all problems in the world can be solved by one (or a few ). I know that feeling - I shot a revolver before back in the days and it is damn 'man'!