Kevin Bacon (FRIDAY THE 13th) takes on the Bronson role here, losing his son to a gang initiation. When he finds out that the perp will get 3 to 5 years at best, he recants his eyewitness account and takes matters into his own hands. He kills his kid’s killer, the brother of the gang leader, who then goes after Bacon and his family.

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There’s not much to give away here plot wise if you’ve seen any of these things before but I won’t ruin it for you in case you’re not familiar with this genre. The action here is first rate, proving that Wan (SAW, DEAD SILENCE), while falling prey to such modern technical nuances such as washed out colors and CGI blood splats, is probably the man to watch when looking for fulfilling, low-tech action pieces. Many reviewers have been talking about the tracking shot through the garage, which is an audacious bit of filmmaking, but honestly, it’s so shaky at some points it may make one sick. The fight in Bacon’s home is an adrenaline pumper as well as the chase leading up to the garage shot. The ending itself is patently ridiculous, stepping into TAXI DRIVER territory, but in reality, that ain’t a bad thing.

Director Wan’s weakness is the dramatic turns. He lingers too long in parts such as Bacon’s confession to his son in the hospital and uses pretty shitty music to heighten sadness and loss, resulting in some groan-inducing moments. The casting of the police detective (Aisha Tyler) on Bacon’s case is all wrong not because she’s a woman, but because she’s terrible in the role, but in her defense, she wasn’t given much to work with. John Goodman turns an extended cameo into a nice, if easily obvious, plot twist and all the gang members are a little bit hokey, nowhere near as sleazy and dangerous as the ones Bronson took a shot at in the original DEATH WISH. I won’t mention all the implausible directions the story takes because in a movie like this, it’s all forgivable.

DEATH SENTENCE hangs up there with the best of the vigilante flicks, such as William Lustig’s VIGILANTE, James Glickenhaus’ THE EXTERMINATOR and Lewis Teague’s FIGHTING BACK as well as Bronson’s signature film. DEATH SENTENCE’s stature is elevated in that it flaunts original DEATH WISH novelist Brian Garfield’s name during the credits. DEATH SENTENCE was his 1975 sequel to his literary juggernaut, and bears no resemblance whatsoever to what is thrown on screen here. Neither did the original DEATH WISH, much to his chagrin.

No matter, because even though DEATH SENTENCE is a mess in tone, it truly is an excessively violent throwback to a time when action wasn’t about big budgeted set pieces, but real car crashes, real stunts and real gun fights. It is a modern day 42nd Street/ drive-in flick for a new generation, and knows for that style of filmmaking to work (unlike Tarantino and Rodriguez’s misguided GRINDHOUSE), it has to follow a certain blueprint. James Wan deviates a bit for politically correct reasons, but all in all, hits a solid triple in the ninth inning, which is something for us in the cheap seats to stand up and cheer about.