The man without mercy

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title The man without mercy
Original title Death Wish II
Death wish 2 de.svg
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1982
length 91 minutes
Age rating FSK 18 ( indexed )
Rod
Director Michael Winner
script David Engelbach
production Yoram Globe
Menahem Golan
music Jimmy Page
camera Thomas Del Ruth
Richard H. Kline
cut Julian Semilian
Michael Winner
occupation

The Man Without Mercy (Original: Death Wish II ) is an American thriller from director Michael Winner from 1982 and is about an architect, Paul Kersey, who takes revenge on his daughter's tormentors. The film, which was made seven years after the vigilante scenario A man sees red , is the second part of the successful Death Wish series with Charles Bronson and was produced by Cannon Films .

action

The successful architect Paul Kersey has been living in Los Angeles for five years with his new partner Geri Nichols, a well-known radio journalist, and their traumatized daughter Carol . Carol, once the victim of brutal rape in New York, is slowly getting better. There is a peaceful family idyll, which is, however, clouded by an increasing number of violent crimes and an alarming number of fatal acts of violence in the big city.

One day, while on a walk, Paul falls victim to a group of criminals who steal his wallet and flee. After a short chase he succeeds in catching a robber, which he lets escape after a brief duel without any major outbursts of violence. A few moments later, the thief who was shot takes revenge with his gang, breaks into Kerseys house and rapes the housekeeper Rosario. Shortly afterwards Paul and his daughter enter the house. The gang knocks him out, kills the housekeeper, and kidnaps his daughter. After she was raped and fatally injured while trying to escape, Paul Kersey resumes his old double life. He does not rely on the investigations of the police, nor does he offer them his cooperation, instead he works from now on as an architect during the day, while at night as a stoic avenging angel he tracks down the gang members and holds them accountable with his own hands.

However, his vengeance does not go unnoticed. Police chief Herman Baldwin tries to cover up the series of murders in the media reports in order to avoid fear and terror on the streets by imitators. The chief police officer of Los Angeles then asks his colleagues in New York for help, who had a similar case five years ago and who have experience. When the inquiry reaches New York, Inspector Frank Ochoa is dispatched to California to investigate to what extent Paul Kersey, who lives there, has anything to do with the recent series of murders. The Avengers had been allowed once pull away secretly, not him despite clear evidence for vigilante justice and sentenced.

The arrived Ochoa shadowed Kersey during a nocturnal "punitive action" and was involuntarily drawn into a shootout that killed other gang members while one of the perpetrators escaped. The investigator is hit by a bullet and fatally injured. The next day, the fugitive Charles "Nirvana" Wilson is arrested by the police, convicted and taken to the safe psychiatric ward of the local hospital. However, this security is only imaginary. With the unwitting help of Geri, who is busy rehabilitating offenders, Kersey spies on the hospital for several days, one day pretends to be a therapist , and kills Wilson after a duel. He then escapes from the hospital to his apartment with the help of a security guard.

At the end of the film, disappointed Geri leaves him, who exposes him as a murderous avenger; furthermore, all investigations into vigilante justice will be closed despite persistent rumors.

Awards

Reviews

"An undisguised legitimation of vigilante justice that does not even try to motivate the behavior of its characters psychologically."

- Lexicon of international film

"Formally, there may be little to complain about here, but Winner's second" Death Wish "is disqualified by an almost shamelessly manipulative style that misuses even the most gruesome depictions of sexual violence as a means to a dramatic end. Evil and misanthropic to the core. "

- Robert Cherkowski, film starts

Gross profit

The film cost $ 2 million to produce and grossed over $ 16 million.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Nominations and Awards
  2. ↑ The man without mercy. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  3. ↑ The Man Without Mercy on filmstarts.de
  4. ↑ gross profit (engl.)