Not great, but good by late Bronson standards
Added 1/18/2009
Messenger of Death makes a much better swansong for the pairing of Bronson and Thompson than their last collaboration, the dire Kinjite. The kind of film that would be a cable movie today and which didn't trouble movie theatres for long on its way to video back in 1988, there's nothing particularly special about it, but Bronson made so many bad movies near the end of his career that it's always a pleasure to come across a half-good one. In something of a throwback to his early TV series Man With a Camera, Bronson's a crime reporter (albeit a modern-day one) whose investigation of a brutal massacre of a family of Mormons soon uncovers two breakaway cults lead by brothers John Ireland and Jeff Corey whose vicious blood feud is being exploited by the local water company. There aren't many surprises, the performances veer from competent (Bronson, John Ireland) via misjudged (Daniel Benzali) and hammy (Laurence Luckenbill) to just plain over the top (Corey) and the rushed ending is pretty awful, but for the most part its well directed and just well crafted enough to pass an hour-and-a-half entertainingly enough.
The only extra is a brief trailer.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Above average by Bronson standards
Added 2/27/2006
Be warned, this review may be biased. You see it was partly filmed in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, my home of twenty five years. In one scene Mr. Bronson's Garrett Smith, a Denver reporter solving a brutal family murder, is walking downtown speaking with the local sheriff when a large Chevy truck passes them. I'm happy to report that truck (mine) and its driver (my dad) are both alive and well. While Mr. Bronson is sadly not, fans of the square jawed tough will certainly enjoy this film. It may not be "Death Wish", or even "Mr. Myjestyk"; "Evil That Men Do" though, it is not.
The plot centers on a massacred family in the Colorado hills. The husband/father is the lone survivor and the head suspect. Everyone suspects foul play, but no one is Aticus Finch enough to confront it, which sometimes puts Bronson in some absolutely ludacris situations. If I told you that there was a shootout involving two sides of a family with multiple deaths, your last guess as to the man who would sue for peace would be Charles Bronson--but he does. In this regard his character is equivelant to his Danny in "Great Escape"; he uses his brain to solve problems and lets everyone else blast away. Yes, we're thinking of the same Charles Bronson.
What follows is a complicated (sometimes silly) view of Mormonism, corruption in city politics and family feuds. Worth the price of admission though, is the film's pure 1980's small town Americana texture. Cars are very, very ugly and there were more STDs than SUVs at the time of filming. Vehicles also are, along with everything else, brown. Clothes, hairstyles, houses and buildings, all brown and all better left a score ago. Let's call it an ugly decade and move on huh?
This is one of the few films where Charles Bronson hardly fires a shot in anger. Yes he's a reporter, but he's also Charles Bronson, and Charles Bronson wouldn't back down from a fight if he played Nathan Lane in Birdcage and only had 2x4 as a weapon. He may be a reporter, but then again the pen is mightier than the .357 Magnum.
4 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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CHARLIE,Charlie,charlie,.......
Added 1/25/2006
Words cannot describe the pain I am going thru to
have to give the Man one star on a movie of his. I
love Bronson films,yes even those bad ones that are
going thru your head right now,but this is by far
his WORST movie ever(and Amazon readers thats saying
alot). Willing to do the PEPSI challenge test with
the syrup NYQUILL anytime. This is the Messenger of
snooze.ZZZZZZZZZZ-ZZZZZ-ZZZZZZZZZZ-ZZZZZZZZ
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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I was IN this movie!
Added 1/6/2005
Although this B-film was a bomb, it was fun and a learning experience to participate in a movie. It's great fun to see yourself onscreen, even if you have to fast-forward through the first ten minutes of gore. It kind of ruined movies for me for a couple of years because I would analyze how a scene was shot and the 'magic' was gone. However, I will treasure my copy of the film forever because a dear friend who has since passed away is standing next to me in the train station scene (I'm the lady in the camel hair coat and black hat). The most redeeming thing about this film is the scenery. Shot in the beautiful Rocky Mountains, the views are breathtaking. Makes you want to vacation in Colorful Colorado!
6 out of 6 people found this helpful.
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a little more "refined" than most Bronson movies
Added 12/8/2004
There's a little more of a "detective/thriller" vibe in Messenger of Death than in some of Bronson's other movies of the period but that's not a bad thing IMHO. It's just a little different from the usual vigilante formula and that's fine by me. I enjoyed this one.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Not great, but good by late Bronson standards
Added 1/18/2009
Messenger of Death makes a much better swansong for the pairing of Bronson and Thompson than their last collaboration, the dire Kinjite. The kind of film that would be a cable movie today and which didn't trouble movie theatres for long on its way to video back in 1988, there's nothing particularly special about it, but Bronson made so many bad movies near the end of his career that it's always a pleasure to come across a half-good one. In something of a throwback to his early TV series Man With a Camera, Bronson's a crime reporter (albeit a modern-day one) whose investigation of a brutal massacre of a family of Mormons soon uncovers two breakaway cults lead by brothers John Ireland and Jeff Corey whose vicious blood feud is being exploited by the local water company. There aren't many surprises, the performances veer from competent (Bronson, John Ireland) via misjudged (Daniel Benzali) and hammy (Laurence Luckenbill) to just plain over the top (Corey) and the rushed ending is pretty awful, but for the most part its well directed and just well crafted enough to pass an hour-and-a-half entertainingly enough.
The only extra is a brief trailer.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Above average by Bronson standards
Added 2/27/2006
Be warned, this review may be biased. You see it was partly filmed in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, my home of twenty five years. In one scene Mr. Bronson's Garrett Smith, a Denver reporter solving a brutal family murder, is walking downtown speaking with the local sheriff when a large Chevy truck passes them. I'm happy to report that truck (mine) and its driver (my dad) are both alive and well. While Mr. Bronson is sadly not, fans of the square jawed tough will certainly enjoy this film. It may not be "Death Wish", or even "Mr. Myjestyk"; "Evil That Men Do" though, it is not.
The plot centers on a massacred family in the Colorado hills. The husband/father is the lone survivor and the head suspect. Everyone suspects foul play, but no one is Aticus Finch enough to confront it, which sometimes puts Bronson in some absolutely ludacris situations. If I told you that there was a shootout involving two sides of a family with multiple deaths, your last guess as to the man who would sue for peace would be Charles Bronson--but he does. In this regard his character is equivelant to his Danny in "Great Escape"; he uses his brain to solve problems and lets everyone else blast away. Yes, we're thinking of the same Charles Bronson.
What follows is a complicated (sometimes silly) view of Mormonism, corruption in city politics and family feuds. Worth the price of admission though, is the film's pure 1980's small town Americana texture. Cars are very, very ugly and there were more STDs than SUVs at the time of filming. Vehicles also are, along with everything else, brown. Clothes, hairstyles, houses and buildings, all brown and all better left a score ago. Let's call it an ugly decade and move on huh?
This is one of the few films where Charles Bronson hardly fires a shot in anger. Yes he's a reporter, but he's also Charles Bronson, and Charles Bronson wouldn't back down from a fight if he played Nathan Lane in Birdcage and only had 2x4 as a weapon. He may be a reporter, but then again the pen is mightier than the .357 Magnum.
4 out of 4 people found this helpful.
|
CHARLIE,Charlie,charlie,.......
Added 1/25/2006
Words cannot describe the pain I am going thru to
have to give the Man one star on a movie of his. I
love Bronson films,yes even those bad ones that are
going thru your head right now,but this is by far
his WORST movie ever(and Amazon readers thats saying
alot). Willing to do the PEPSI challenge test with
the syrup NYQUILL anytime. This is the Messenger of
snooze.ZZZZZZZZZZ-ZZZZZ-ZZZZZZZZZZ-ZZZZZZZZ
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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