Nothing new and exciting here for what is fast becoming a tired old genre, but boasting the considerable talents of Kevin Bacon in the lead role, Death Sentence is way above average and never outstays its welcome. Nick Hume & his son Brendan stop at a gas station one night and a violent turn of events transforms Nick into a maelstrom of fury...

Asking the question of just what lengths we would go to to look after our families, Death Sentence is merely following on from the likes of Death Wish and Eye For An Eye. But here the violence is upped to such a gruesome standard, it creates maximum impact. Yet it's not the violence that leaves the lasting impression, it's the descent of the main protagonist that terrifies the most. A humble and decent man spiralling out of control, done down by the system, he finds darkness within him that he surely didn't know he had.

Some sequences here are excellent and well staged by director James Wan, and he shows considerable skill with his fluid camera. But these things tend to get over looked in a film of this type. Elsewhere, although we are asked to swallow the impossible for one too many occasions, and the cops are stupid beyond belief, the film does find a couple of narrative tricks to also keep it out of formulaic tedium. Kevin Bacon deserves better than this for sure, but he's great in the dual role and as revenge thrillers go, in case I haven't violently rammed home the point yet, this really hits the mark. Kind of like a kick in the privates really. 7/10

I'm convinced that the only reason that a lot of fine players took roles in this film is that it gave them a chance to overact outrageously, something you normally get to do in some gruesome slasher flick and not be noticed. Although I have to say that Death Sentence gets pretty gruesome and I can't find much redeeming social content in it.

Kevin Bacon and son Stuart Lafferty take a wrong turn after a hockey game and wind up on the wrong side of town and in the clutches of a skinhead gang. Lafferty winds up killed and the boy arrested for the crime, Matt O'Leary is later killed by Bacon who goes after him.

Now Bacon's family the Humes are this upper middle class yuppie family and really aren't ready for the blood feud it brings down on them. Especially from Garrett Hedlund the older brother and head of the skinhead gang. He's learned his family trade and values from papa John Goodman, a man with a hand in all kinds of illegality.

In a movie like Death Sentence accent is on the first word, a whole lot of people die in this thing before its over. Let's just say the Darleys are a lot better equipped to deal in blood, but Kevin Bacon is a fast learner.

Not that he's getting much help from the police. Two uniform cops sent to guard his family get killed by the skinheads so the words of Detective Aisha Tyler are kind of hollow.

A lot of overacting, plenty of blood, guts, and guns characterize Death Sentence. If that's what you like in film, go for it.

Vigilante thrillers have been a long-term staple of cinema since Michael Winner's violent 1974 classic DEATH WISH set the template for what has come since. DEATH SENTENCE is another variant on long-established themes that runs through the – dare I say it? – clichés with slick efficiency. One of the biggest draws for me was the presence of Kevin Bacon, an under-appreciated actor who I've always enjoyed watching in whatever he does. I wasn't disappointed with his performance here as a normal family man who undergoes a metamorphosis into a ruthless killer; Bacon is an actor who always exudes believability and has a natural edginess that makes him perfect for roles like the one here.

The film starts off on strong ground, leading us through to some scenes of unbelievable harshness and loss, and the pivotal turns from Bacon and a strong Kelly Preston as his wife keep us watching. Director James Wan is best known for directing the first SAW film, and this is a movie with much of the same darkness – although, thankfully, the outrageous torture and violence is kept in short supply here; in essence this is no more violent a film than a typical Steven Seagal movie like OUT FOR JUSTICE from the '90s.

The camera-work is strong and the supporting cast fine – John Goodman's here in an extended cameo and about as far away from his 'cuddly big guy' persona as you can imagine; and Garrett Hedlund is an intensely hateful villain, yet he manages to be more than just a comic book caricature. There are some GREAT action scenes here, including a middle-of-the-film foot chase that takes place in streets, buildings and finally a parking lot. This is a fantastic moment of cinema and one of the best chases I've ever watched, and I'm going to make sure I sit through it again even if I don't watch the whole movie a second time.

This leads me neatly into the film's biggest failing – the last third. After an important plot twist, the film suddenly changes and loses scope. The substance evaporates in favour of dark style and the inevitable shoot-em-up climax ensues where the last vestiges of reality are done away with in favour of predictable, clichéd and inane over-the-top killing. Even worse, almost all of the stylistic touches are nicked from the climax of Scorsese's TAXI DRIVER. Inevitably this ends up being inferior and just reminds us of that film's classic nature. The flawed nature of the last part of the movie means that this is an adequate vigilante outing.