Despite being absolute garbage DEATH 3 was a hugely entertaining franchise movie . It might have been entertaining for all the wrong reasons but it was amusing enough for me to give THE CRACKDOWN the benefit of the doubt when it was broadcast earlier tonight .
It starts well enough to continue the campy feel of the third film . A woman walks through a darkly lit car park . Her car fails to start then she looks to see The Masked Magician standing there . She tries starting the car again the fear written upon her face . Now David Blaine stands alongside The Masked Magician . Morbid panic sets in . The woman realises as this rate the worst thing in the world is going to happen - yes now David Copperfield stands alongside the duo who want to use her in their next trick . Thankfully Charles Bronson turns up to execute these rude magicians only to find he's shot himself and .... it's all been a dream
If you've ever attended a class featuring the mechanics and science of screen writing then you'll been warned straight away that never EVER start a film off with a dream sequence , a rule that has just been broken here . Strangely this explains why the opening sequence feels so unreal . It's a dream therefore it's supposed to be surreal so kudos for the production team for at least understanding internal continuity . Unlike DW3 this movie does take place in a recognisable world but the longer it continues the longer you wished the franchise had died in the previous movie for two reasons
The first reason is that it's deadly dull . Say what you want about DW3 but at least it's amusing if not laugh outloud funny as you're able to point out how it would be impossible for the events on screen to happen in " our world " . Not here where there is a sort of reality involved . There are some ridiculous moments to THE CRACKDOWN such as Bronson having a machine pistol that has a magazine capacity of several hundred rounds but you've seen that type of goof in so many movies it has become part of cinematic convention . Nearly every 80s action thriller suffers from the same flaws
The second reason the movie is so bad is the entirely naive attitude towards cocaine . I wish to state I have never tried a class A drug but I know many people who have . I think nothing less or more for them having done so . Drugs are bad I do agree but the almost obscene rant that his movie takes against users and dealers is not even bad enough to be amusing . Teenage girl takes cocaine for the first time and dies . Hands up anyone who knows someone killed by cocaine ? We're all in the same boat then aren't we ? On top of that Bronson's character spent the first three movies killing muggers , rapists and other human garbage so why does the movie take the offensive stance that someone being killed by drugs is the same moral equivalence as someone being murdered ? As you can imagine Charley boy kills all the bad guys and for some strange reason never realises there will be a few other coke cartels coming along in a few minutes . Maybe being a vigilante he possess a clear insight that if you kill drug dealers no one will take their place unlike what happens in say the real world ? Oh dear I'm starting to realise maybe DW3 was a fly on the wall documentary compared to this ! Just shows what a badly thought out and naive movie it is after all
It starts well enough to continue the campy feel of the third film . A woman walks through a darkly lit car park . Her car fails to start then she looks to see The Masked Magician standing there . She tries starting the car again the fear written upon her face . Now David Blaine stands alongside The Masked Magician . Morbid panic sets in . The woman realises as this rate the worst thing in the world is going to happen - yes now David Copperfield stands alongside the duo who want to use her in their next trick . Thankfully Charles Bronson turns up to execute these rude magicians only to find he's shot himself and .... it's all been a dream
If you've ever attended a class featuring the mechanics and science of screen writing then you'll been warned straight away that never EVER start a film off with a dream sequence , a rule that has just been broken here . Strangely this explains why the opening sequence feels so unreal . It's a dream therefore it's supposed to be surreal so kudos for the production team for at least understanding internal continuity . Unlike DW3 this movie does take place in a recognisable world but the longer it continues the longer you wished the franchise had died in the previous movie for two reasons
The first reason is that it's deadly dull . Say what you want about DW3 but at least it's amusing if not laugh outloud funny as you're able to point out how it would be impossible for the events on screen to happen in " our world " . Not here where there is a sort of reality involved . There are some ridiculous moments to THE CRACKDOWN such as Bronson having a machine pistol that has a magazine capacity of several hundred rounds but you've seen that type of goof in so many movies it has become part of cinematic convention . Nearly every 80s action thriller suffers from the same flaws
The second reason the movie is so bad is the entirely naive attitude towards cocaine . I wish to state I have never tried a class A drug but I know many people who have . I think nothing less or more for them having done so . Drugs are bad I do agree but the almost obscene rant that his movie takes against users and dealers is not even bad enough to be amusing . Teenage girl takes cocaine for the first time and dies . Hands up anyone who knows someone killed by cocaine ? We're all in the same boat then aren't we ? On top of that Bronson's character spent the first three movies killing muggers , rapists and other human garbage so why does the movie take the offensive stance that someone being killed by drugs is the same moral equivalence as someone being murdered ? As you can imagine Charley boy kills all the bad guys and for some strange reason never realises there will be a few other coke cartels coming along in a few minutes . Maybe being a vigilante he possess a clear insight that if you kill drug dealers no one will take their place unlike what happens in say the real world ? Oh dear I'm starting to realise maybe DW3 was a fly on the wall documentary compared to this ! Just shows what a badly thought out and naive movie it is after all