DEATH SENTENCE

There is an insider joke connected to the film, Death Sentence. The title does not refer to the characters in the story, it is a commentary on the fate of the audience. Watching this junk for two hours, seemed like I was condemned. I did not commit a crime, yet the price of admission earned me an experience that is prohibited by the constitutional sanction against cruel punishment. The trailer for this film was just about the right length to present the entire storyline. This is the low point of Kevin Beacon's wonderful career. THIS IS JUST A TEENAGE SHOOT THEM UP, TRYING TO CLAIM IT IS DEALING WITH GREAT SOCIAL AND MORAL ISSUES OF JUSTICE, REVENGE, SOCIAL STATUS, RICH AND POOR. THOSE IDEAS ARE JUST MENTIONED IN CONNECTING ONE SCENE OF MINDLESS VIOLENCE TO ANOTHER. I WOULD SUGGEST THAT, READING ROMANTIC SONNETS TO A RAPE VICTIM, DOES NOT TRANSFORM THE CRIMINAL ACT INTO A LITERARY EXPERIENCE. MENTIONING SOCIAL ISSUES, DOES NOT MAKE THIS A FILM ABOUT SOCIAL ISSUES. When the film was over, the audience left as grateful as if the governor had issued a last minute reprieve and we were free to go -- but the scars remain.