While the Death Wish franchise ended up becoming a ridiculous mockery of itself, the first film is a rather dour, gritty shoot-em-up that is widely considered one of Charles Bronson’s best. And that’s not incorrect, but it doesn’t mean the 1974 film has aged particularly well in a U.S. society that has become ravaged by gun violence. Its message of kill everyone you see committing a crime really doesn’t play anymore. Eli Roth’s 2018 remake, one of the final theatrical films to feature Bruce Willis (and the very last one to have his name at the top of the cast list). But it does manage to fix a few of the problems found in the original film.
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And now, people seem to be catching up on the Eli Roth helmed remake. It didn’t play all that well in theaters, because it was released in the middle of the actor’s film quality drop and, well, 2018 was an odd time to release a revenge fable. But thanks to Netflix, it seems it’s found its audience seven years later.
The following contains a brief description of a scene involving sexual assault.
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The odd thing about Death Wish is that the Brian Garfield novel upon which its based doesn’t really see Paul Kersey’s actions as heroic. It goes out of its way to show that this path of vengeance is chipping away at his soul. The movie is more like “Bam! Onto the next one. Bam! So on and so forth.” There aren’t many moments when Bronson’s Kersey shows much emotion, much less remorse.
The remake skirts this issue by having Willis’ Kersey be a surgeon instead of an architect. We register that he’s conflicted about his actions. He’s reversing course on what was his life’s purpose. Then there’s the fact that the newer Kersey is actively and exclusively chasing down the people who killed his wife and put his daughter into a coma. He’s not just gunning down anyone who he happens to witness breaking the law (the randomness of which was condemned at the time for advocating deadly vigilantism).
Speaking of his wife and daughter, they remain the catalyst for Kersey’s change in the remake. But there’s one big difference, and it’s the removal of a detail that really makes the 1974 film feel like an exploitation movie. That would be what the trio of burglars do to Kersey’s daughter. Instead of sexually assaulting her as she futilely flails, the younger Kersey of the 2018 film gives the criminals a run for their combative money and comes up short. She’s a real character, not just a chance to show some nudity and make the film feel ickier.
So how is Roth’s Death Wish doing on Netflix? For the week of 12/8 to 12/14/2025, it was ranked sixth on the worldwide Top 10. This placed it ahead of A Merry Little Ex-Mas, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, The Croods: A New Age, and The Hustle but behind Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, My Secret Santa, Jay Kelly, KPop Demon Hunters, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. That’s a pretty impressive spot to hold.
What are your thoughts on the Death Wish remake? Let us know in the comments.
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