Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on October 2009

©2007 HPE Rights, Inc

This Death Wish wannabe from Saw director James Wan stars Kevin Bacon as the father of a murdered son who, to his own severe detriment, becomes a gangbanger slayer. Wan’s noble message is that vengeance ultimately degrades the avenger. Fair enough. But at the same time he’s pandering shamelessly to revenge-flick fans, who by the way will be disappointed. Starts out well enough, but soon gets maudlin, then overdramatic, and then just plain over-the-top silly when John Goodman shows up, possibly from another movie, as a campy myopic lunatic, and the frequent and abrupt changes in tone are jarring.

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