I watched this recently back-to-back with number 3, and it is fantastic. Bronson is great as is John P. Ryan as the villain. This film dulls deeper into Kersey as a character, perhaps he is scared of what he has become, which is clearly evident in the dream he has at the start of the film. Though the special effects are dated this one is much more modern and the editing is improved. Though I miss the Jimmy Page score from the second and third, just that whirring guitar sound that would play just before Kersey strikes. But all in all a thrilling film with a great climax. Highly recommended.
I don't know why people don't like this movie, the first two films were extremely cheap, all he did in the first two films was kill a street thug, go back to work, go out on the streets again and kill another thug and repeat. That's all that was happening in the first two films. The third film was just a non-stop killing film without the "back to work" parts.
This 4th one actually contains a storyline, a plot twist or two, the man is undercover and doesn't just kill strangers on the street every 2 minutes of the film. In the 4th one you have to pay attention to what's going on or things won't make sense, in the first and second film you can take a 15 minute bathroom break, return and know that all the man has been doing is killing people. There's no storyline whatsoever in the first two films. The 4th film actually expands on Kersey's skills, he doesn't just pull the trigger, but he carefully scopes out the two gangs and plans his every move with "spy-like" maneuvers.
What was very enticing was the plot twist itself and I therefore agree not understanding how people could find this film dull or not well made. The whole plot twist with Natahan White took the intensity of the film up a notch and made for a really suspensful ending that kept the interest up.
I love love love this film! My girlfriend and I put it on like every other weekend and love it too death. We usually start the night with pizza and then she drinks her margarita while I drink my PBR and scotch. We play backgammon the whole time and quote the movie at certain parts. "What the F are you doing here?" "Im making a sandwich. When it is over we have drunken sex in my parents hot-tube and wake up the next morning feeling wonderful. God I love my life!!! Maybe I will grow up when I am 24.