1974 New York is rampant with crime and the regular citizens are powerless to stop it. When Paul Kersey's wife is killed by a band of muggers he decides to take matters in his own hands.
At its core I liked the movie. Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) was truly a regular joe. He was an architect at a firm and even though he'd served in the Korean war he was a conscientious objector so he never handled a gun in the war. He wasn't a Rambo or Commando fighting back. He didn't shoot with a kill shot every time or strike with a mortal blow every punch (not that he was fighting anyone). Although a good shot, he was still a novice.
I appreciated all of that. The part that got under my skin a bit was an ancillary part of the movie but still prominent. There was an underlying propaganda of: "more guns means more safety." It was really driven home when the Arizonian sniped at the city of New York being a cesspool of crime whereas Arizona was not. His reason: they allow guns in Arizona. As if guns are a panacea for all problems.
The movie would've been better without the NRA sledgehammer.
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