Watching the new action film Death Kiss from filmmaker Rene Perez (Playing with Dolls) is a truly bizarre experience. If you haven’t heard about it, the film stars actor Robert “Bronzi” Kovacs, who is a dead ringer for one of cinema’s greatest action stars, Charles Bronson. Bronzi was born in Hungary and is a jack-of-all-trades. The guy speaks multiple languages, served in the military, and is also a professionally trained actor. It’s almost haunting to see just how much Kovacs resembles Bronson, right down to the way he moves. Just taking a look at the title, you can get a pretty good idea at what to expect, but is it all any good?
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A mysterious stranger (Robert Kovacs) has moved into a crime-infested town to do one thing: take out the trash. His eyes are set on career criminal Tyrell (Richard Tyson), who he has a past with. Blood will spill when the two cross paths again, and hopefully no one will get caught in the crossfire. At the same time, Ana (Eva Hamilton) is a single mother raising a crippled daughter who has been receiving envelopes of cash. She doesn’t know where the money is coming from or why. This stranger is full of secrets, but the only thing he has on his mind is revenge.
Death Kiss was shot on a limited budget with a tight schedule. Perez is a one-man machine having not only directed, he also wrote, edited, shot, and composed the score. With something like this, you really don’t know what to expect. Charles Bronson’s career spanned over fifty years, but it wasn’t until the ’80s that he had begun to work with Yoram Globus and Menahem Golan, who had founded Cannon Films. The series of movies he did with them, including the Death Wish sequels, were clearly the inspiration for Death Kiss. It captures what made those films so successful and almost feels as if it were a companion piece in some alternate, parallel universe.
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The villains are portrayed over-the-top, the blood is plentiful, and Kovacs has harnessed the essence of Bronson. The only thing that’s a bit distracting, is the fact his voice is dubbed. His dialogue is minimal, so it’s only a minor gripe even if it’s pretty noticeable. Richard Tyson slays as the villain, cartoony and sleazy, a perfect ’80s action film villain. Eva Hamilton delivers a surprisingly strong performance and really gets deep into the skin of her character, who is trying so hard to understand how and why she’s in the situation she is in. Even if some of her scenes with Kovacs’ character feel a little forced or out of place.
Death Kiss is less Death Wish and more in line with those later films from Cannon. As great as the original one was, I lived and breathed Cannon Films growing up, so a tribute to this era really hits me in a tender spot. Perez may be best known as a horror director, but he really should continue to play around more in the action genre. He stages some solid action scenes and frames them remarkably well. Considering what the movie is and how the lead looks, it respectfully pays homage to the legendary actor and the film he’s best remembered for.
We all know there was a Death Wish remake from Eli Roth that starred Bruce Willis that wasn’t half bad, it just failed to capture the spirit of what made the original series so great. Death Kiss not only feels like a fitting tribute, Robert Kovacs does Bronson proud and hopefully this film is just the beginning of an amazing ride.
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