Movie review
March 1, 2018 · 107 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Death Wish.
Woke representation / casting
Leads fit the Chicago surgeon family story with mostly white principals and mixed criminals chosen partly to address bias concerns; no forced diversity quotas or identity signaling visible to audiences. Mary Vernieu’s general reputation noted but not dominant here.
Woke political dialogue
No lines push identity politics, systemic racism, gender issues, or activist language; talk stays on crime rates, police delays, and personal protection.
Identity-driven story themes
Pure revenge thriller about grief turning a healer into a killer; no plotlines built around race, gender, sexuality, or modern social justice causes.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Shows police and courts as slow and ineffective against street crime, with some balanced news clips; this reflects classic conservative frustration with lenient justice rather than activist attacks on patriarchy, whiteness, or Western norms.
Review
Death Wish (2018) is a remake of the 1974 vigilante thriller. Bruce Willis plays Paul Kersey, a Chicago trauma surgeon whose wife is killed and daughter left in a coma during a home invasion by street criminals. Grief and frustration with slow police work drive him to train with guns and become a masked avenger called the Grim Reaper who hunts down criminals across the city. The story stays focused on personal revenge, urban crime, and one man taking justice into his own hands with no visible emphasis on identity themes, representation messaging, or activist dialogue.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. Remake keeps the original vigilante arc and premise intact with only minor setting updates; no identity-driven reinterpretations of characters.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Backlash came from the left calling the film pro-gun and right-wing; zero complaints accused it of pushing woke, DEI, or identity politics.
Creator track record context
Eli Roth has critiqued SJW culture in past work and recent comments. Joe Carnahan has questioned DEI imperatives. Brian Garfield held classical liberal views on crime but opposed the original film’s vigilantism glorification. No strong identity-driven or activist patterns in the core team.
Production
