A few thoughts: One of those rare examples where, in spite of the original being a solid film, the sequel took everything from the first one and just amped it up to the next degree in a way that really works. The set-up is basically the same, only this time we have an entire movie worth of establishment between Paul Kersey (Bronson) and his skowly recovering daughter, which makes her (incredibly ridiculous) death hold extra weight. But this movie gets the Cannon treatment, which basically means the sex and violence are glorified, but Bronson gives a grounded enough performance to prevent this from reaching the uber-macho status that would reach critical mass by the 3rd entry in the series. Due to how emotionally distant the first film was, I don't see this over-the-top sequel as any kind of betrayal of the original, but rather an extension of it: an extremely bloody and satisfying extension. It still stays true to his character, but definitely treads some ground. Because of this, it doesn't particularly stand out above the first one, but at least it isn't pretending to be a hard--hitting drama. This is a cold-blooded revenge actioner through and through.
Anyone who watched the first Death Wish and thought all it needed was more violence. This is Cannon, folks -- they bred violence.
My grade: B-
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