Movie Review: Death Sentence (2007)

When a movie boasts Kevin Bacon in a leading role as a middle-aged office worker-turned-killer and John Goodman going off the rails in a supporting role as a psychotic gun dealer, there are two possible outcomes. The first is that it will be an off-the-wall, crazy adrenaline rush that surprises no-one by having plot roles but surprises everyone by actually holding the viewers' interest. The second outcome is that it will turn into a godawful mess that is barely watchable. Unfortunately, Death Sentence very firmly falls into the latter category.

The blame mainly falls in the lap of director James Wan (Saw), who muddles every action sequence by washing things in dull colors and poor lighting and using enough random cuts to almost rival music videos in their franticness. There was not one major action scene that did not at least once confuse the hell out of me, and thus the rest of the sequence was spent wondering who was where and trying to keep up with what the hell was actually going on.

This is made even more difficult by the utter stupidity of the plot. We're supposed to believe there are cartoonish street gangs who just go around and kill people for sport (and never with any real motivation). We're supposed to believe a somewhat wimpy office worker can not only be transformed by the brutal murder of his son, but actually be a very effective killer even though he looks like someone who has never even held a gun before in his life. We're supposed to believe that the police are so inept that this newly transformed killing machine can, without much effort, evade the police's grasp until his mission for revenge is complete.

Both Kevin Bacon, as the aforementioned office lackey-turned-Dirty Harry, and John Goodman, as a wildly eccentric gun runner who seems more likely to shoot someone rather than sell them guns, put more into their roles than was necessary. Both are, in the midst of continually building plot holes, somewhat believeable, which is a testament to the acting chops of both actors. The supporting cast, however, falls in line with the material, offering portrayals that are either excrutiatingly over the top or so bland that they might as well have not even been in the movie.

If you want an action movie with frantic editing and a disposable plot with John Goodman, Speed Racer was a hundred times more entertaining than Death Sentence. If you want a thriller with Kevin Bacon, he's done quite a few over the years, most of which are probably more thrilling and engaging than Death Sentence. If you want a creepy movie directed by James Wan (not exactly sure why you would), just check out Saw. Whatever you do, don't watch Death Sentence unless you're either a masochist or are easily entertained by horrible movies.

Rating: 2/10