Movie Review by Perry Pannu:

Death Sentence
In Theatres Now

From the writer and director of Saw, James Wan, comes another blood splattered movie.

Keeping with the Saw tradition, there is plenty of violence for everyone. Kevin Bacon, Kelly Preston, Garrett Hedlund and John Goodman are just some of the stars. Once more, I need to break this movie up into two pieces to do my review because just about half way through, it becomes a different movie.

The first half was set up perfectly, starting with home video footage of the main character’s family. The story begins almost right away and the filmmakers have done a pretty good job of gaining the empathetic involvement of its viewers. You are right there with them through everything that happens. Then, just when you aren’t sure if it’s over or not, it catches its second wind and you realize the second half of the movie has just begun.

Contrary to what you might be guessing at this moment, the second part of the movie is really a comedy because you lose your suspension of disbelief and almost every line becomes an over-acted parody (unintentionally, of course). The audience was literally laughing, even though the content was quite gruesome.

It’s sad that the movie had to end that way. If I could re-release it, I would end it at where it should have ended, exactly half way through. It’s a tough call to say whether the movie is worth watching or not. I loved the first half. In fact, I would probably even buy that chunk of the film. What were they thinking? Was this the case of an editor suffering from OCD?

So, I recommend seeing it in a theatre on cheap ticket Tuesday or waiting for it to go to the second run theatres, but pretend you are watching two different movies. The first half is an excellent drama, and the second half is a blood filled comedy. Don’t forget to bring sneak in your own snacks (or you’ll kick yourself for spending that extra money on this movie).