Death Wish

“In Death Wish we get just about the definitive Bronson; rarely has a leading role contained fewer words or more violence.”

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times · 75

“If it were even remotely realistic, it would be intolerable, but the first half of its premise, Bronson as a bleeding-heart liberal who turns, because of a personal tragedy into a gun-toting vigilante, is so patently unconvincing as to make the payoff an irresistibly entertaining exercise in backlash titillation. [29 Aug 1974, p.65]”

Andrew Sarris, Village Voice · 60

“An enjoyable bad movie instead of a purely offensive one. [01 Aug 1974, p.67]”

Molly Haskell, Village Voice · 60

“The sense of location is strong, emphasising a hostile, nightmarish terrain; but Winner's recourse to caricature when dealing with police and thugs, and his virtually overt sympathies with the confused, violent Bronson, make for uncritical, simplistic viewing.”

Staff (Not Credited), Time Out · 50

“Death Wish is so cannily fabricated that it sometimes succeeds in arousing the most primitive kind of anger. Yet it's a despicable movie, one that raises complex questions in order to offer bigoted, frivolous, oversimplified answers.”

Vincent Canby, The New York Times · 40