The Modern Day Western

Back in the mid 18th century the Western frontier was spreading quickly. Life in these parts was rumored to be marked by lawlessness, gunfights, and thieves. In these dark horizons authors created fictional stories where heroes take law into their own hands to uphold justice or revenge no matter what the cost. This basic element would later give way to the more modern action films such as James Wan's Death Sentence with Kevin Bacon.

Death Sentence opens up in a suburban civilized city where the main character (Kevin Bacon) has an almost perfect family. But one night changed everything when a "lawless" street gang kills his son at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Deciding to let this terrible crime off the hook because of legal complications, he takes law into his own hands and kills the boy that killed his son. Later throughout the film Kevin Bacon's character becomes more detached from society and more intertwined with the gang lackey that he killed. Eventually guns, bars, and a huge wild west style shoot helps to resolve these conflicts just like the old westerns.

Today many people will tell you that the western genre is pretty much dead. This isn't true because we can see from modern day movies that the genre has mixed and become part of the action series. Although the films might not take place in a desert as empty as the heroes soul, you'll find the setting in the ghettos where even the police are afraid to venture. Other elements stay the same such as bars and shoot outs where viewers get to experience several minutes of massive or individual fire fights.

Death Sentence Trailer