'Death Wish' First Trailer
He's died hard, he's discovered the fifth element, and he's been to Sin City. But now, Bruce Willis is headed to Chicago with one thing in mind: vengeance.
The 62-year-old action hero stars in the upcoming remake of the 1970s cult classic, Death Wish, in which a mild-mannered father becomes a vigilante after his wife is murdered and his daughter is assaulted. After roughly 11 months of development and filming, the intense first trailer has finally dropped for the latest adaptation of Brian Garfield's classic 1972 novel.
Directed by modern horror master Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel) and penned by action vet Joe Carnahan (Smokin' Aces, The A-Team), the film looks to blend the psychological element of the novel and the action of the original Charles Bronson cult classic.
The first adaptation, which debuted in 1974, received polarizing reviews from critics at the time. Some found its disturbing portrayal of Bronson's vigilantism to be a positive aspect of the film, while others felt that the exploitative nature of the violence went against its source material's message.
While the '74 film and the 2017 film share the same plotline, there's no denying a difference in tone between the two. Looking at the trailers alone, one can see that there's a more upbeat feel to the Willis-led remake. In the new trailer, we are not only treated to the fast-paced rock jam of AC/DC's "Back in Black," but also plenty of quick-witted one-liners from Willis's revenge-driven Paul Kersey. Looking back at the trailer for the original film, it's clear that the tone of the film would be very dark and dramatic, with Bronson's kills carrying a heavier weight on his soul than Willis's kills.
Though the tone of the upcoming Death Wish might vary drastically from the first adaptation of Garfield's novel, there's no denying a sense of thrill watching the trailer for the remake, set to release on November 22.