Bronson is rather miscast as a reporter (who still can punch and defeat any opponent), but this is one of his least typical and most solid vehicles from the 80's. It begins with a weird, effectively staged massacre and includes some offbeat elements along with the familiar ones. It's still nothing special, though. It's one of those curiously forgettable films that keep you interested while you're watching them, but leave no lasting impression.
45 Reviews
Decent film....but it's not really a "Mormon" feud
Chrieraux1 March 2007
The film has Charles Bronson in its favor, and is fairly well-made. It'a a little unbelievable, but fans of the genre or Bronson should enjoy it. Basically, Charles Bronson is an investigative reporter who investigates the slaying of a man's family, originally under the impression that the slaying was due to religious differences. One thing of minor note...it's not really a feud between different Mormon sects. The LDS Church has banned polygamy, in accordance with federal law, and excommunicates members who practice it. I suppose some might say that all the break-off groups(like the RLDS, FLDS and polygamist clans) can be considered part of a Mormon Religious Umbrella....but that would be kind of like saying members of the Russian Orthodox Church are really Catholic.
Exciting Charles Bronson/J.Lee Thompson movie with noisy action , suspense , car pursuits and violence
ma-cortes21 October 2016
Wifes and children of the Mormon Orville Beecham (Charles Dierkop) become victims of a slaughter in his own house . The police believes the massacre had a religious motive . Orville doesn't give any comment on the investigation and he is taken into protective custody . Tough 'Denver Tribune' crime reporter Garret Smith (Bronson , he was about sixty-six years of age when he appeared here) persuades him to help him in the case of the slaying of his family . As there is an extreme feud between different Mormon sects , one being led by Willis Beecham (Jeff Corey) and the other led by his brother Zenas Beecham (John Ireland) . Smith , helped by Jastra Watson (Trish Van Devere) , uncovers a strange conspiracy around old-rich real state .
This light entertainment and standard Bronson movie is full of action , thrills , and disturbing scenes . Here Bronson rules in his usual stoic acting and displays efficiently his weapons , killing mercilessly nasties . The meaning and relevance of this movie's title is that it refers to a drawing featuring an avenging angel of death that is left at a crime scene at the beginning of the flick . The title also suggests that Bronson is a 'Messenger of Death', the word messenger also being a play on words with this, as his character is a reporter , a job which involves writing news articles , they being "messages" in a sense . In the film there is frantic action , thrilling car/trucks pursuits , shootouts , intrigue , little bit of violence and including a twisted as well as suspenseful finale . Based on a book and scripted by Paul Jarrico , as its source Rex Burns novel 'The Avenging Angel' was first published in 1983 , though the film has little in common with the novel it is based on . From the beginning until ending the action-packed and fast moving is continued and that's why the picture results to be entertaining . This is one of the last films (last movie was Kinjite) Charles Bronson made for Cannon Films and it represents the ninth and final of ten teamings between producer Pancho Kohner and star actor Bronson . Charles Bronson acting is wooden as being habitual in his roles as an investigator/executioner . Here he plays a reporter who carries out an investigation and finds out about economic motives for a massacre . This journalist evokes the crime writer character he played in St. Ives (1976) , the first movie he made with Thompson . The great spotlights of the film are the spectacular chases , car crashes between Bronson's car and the big juggernaut as well as the ending confrontation that's stimulating and moving . Nice and wide support cast , such as : Daniel Benzali , Marilyn Hasset , John Cedar , Penny Peyser , Tom Everett and Gene Davis who starred a heinous killer in ¨10 to midnight¨ by Thompson . Special mention for Laurence Luckinbill who gives an overacting with quite gesticulation . And the elders of this movie's religious groups are played by three stars of old Western movies : Charles Dierkop , Jeff Corey and John Ireland . It packs and evocative and adequate cinematography by Gideon Porath . Atmospheric soundtrack by Robert O. Ragland , including stirring choral score in the title and final credits composed in ¨Jerry Goldsmith's Omen¨ style .
The fare was regularly directed by J. Lee Thompson , though he fell ill during the making of this film , the picture was then finished by the first and 2nd unit director : Robert C. Ortwin Jr. and George Van Noy . It's narrated understanding as well as hardly . This movie represented the eighth and penultimate of nine teaming of director 'J Lee Thompson' with star actor Charles Bronson . This Thompson movie was theatrically released between his pictures Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1986) and Kinjite (1989) , both of them starred by Bronson . Thompson previously had a nice track record in the English cinema from 1950 until 1961 , directing good Western (McKenna's gold , White Buffalo) and all king genres as Sci-Fi (Conquest and Battle of planet of apes), terror (reincarnation of Peter Proud , Eye of the devil), adventures (Flame over India , Kings of the sun , Taras Bulba , Tiger Bay) and Warlike ( Guns of Navarone, Von Braun , Chairman , The passage). His two biggest successes turned out to be ¨Guns of Navarone¨and ¨Cape Fear¨. Thereafter , the filmmaker's career subsided in a morass of slickly realized but middling films. He moved into the field of international spectaculars , at which point his filmmaking seemed to lose its individuality . J. Lee Thomson working from the 50s in England, finished his career making Chuck Norris (Firewalker) and Charles Bronson vehicles (Caboblanco , Evil that men do, Messenger of death, Death Wish 4 : Crackdown, Caboblanco, St Ives). Firewalker rating : Mediocre but passable , but it will appeal to Charles Bronson fans
This light entertainment and standard Bronson movie is full of action , thrills , and disturbing scenes . Here Bronson rules in his usual stoic acting and displays efficiently his weapons , killing mercilessly nasties . The meaning and relevance of this movie's title is that it refers to a drawing featuring an avenging angel of death that is left at a crime scene at the beginning of the flick . The title also suggests that Bronson is a 'Messenger of Death', the word messenger also being a play on words with this, as his character is a reporter , a job which involves writing news articles , they being "messages" in a sense . In the film there is frantic action , thrilling car/trucks pursuits , shootouts , intrigue , little bit of violence and including a twisted as well as suspenseful finale . Based on a book and scripted by Paul Jarrico , as its source Rex Burns novel 'The Avenging Angel' was first published in 1983 , though the film has little in common with the novel it is based on . From the beginning until ending the action-packed and fast moving is continued and that's why the picture results to be entertaining . This is one of the last films (last movie was Kinjite) Charles Bronson made for Cannon Films and it represents the ninth and final of ten teamings between producer Pancho Kohner and star actor Bronson . Charles Bronson acting is wooden as being habitual in his roles as an investigator/executioner . Here he plays a reporter who carries out an investigation and finds out about economic motives for a massacre . This journalist evokes the crime writer character he played in St. Ives (1976) , the first movie he made with Thompson . The great spotlights of the film are the spectacular chases , car crashes between Bronson's car and the big juggernaut as well as the ending confrontation that's stimulating and moving . Nice and wide support cast , such as : Daniel Benzali , Marilyn Hasset , John Cedar , Penny Peyser , Tom Everett and Gene Davis who starred a heinous killer in ¨10 to midnight¨ by Thompson . Special mention for Laurence Luckinbill who gives an overacting with quite gesticulation . And the elders of this movie's religious groups are played by three stars of old Western movies : Charles Dierkop , Jeff Corey and John Ireland . It packs and evocative and adequate cinematography by Gideon Porath . Atmospheric soundtrack by Robert O. Ragland , including stirring choral score in the title and final credits composed in ¨Jerry Goldsmith's Omen¨ style .
The fare was regularly directed by J. Lee Thompson , though he fell ill during the making of this film , the picture was then finished by the first and 2nd unit director : Robert C. Ortwin Jr. and George Van Noy . It's narrated understanding as well as hardly . This movie represented the eighth and penultimate of nine teaming of director 'J Lee Thompson' with star actor Charles Bronson . This Thompson movie was theatrically released between his pictures Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1986) and Kinjite (1989) , both of them starred by Bronson . Thompson previously had a nice track record in the English cinema from 1950 until 1961 , directing good Western (McKenna's gold , White Buffalo) and all king genres as Sci-Fi (Conquest and Battle of planet of apes), terror (reincarnation of Peter Proud , Eye of the devil), adventures (Flame over India , Kings of the sun , Taras Bulba , Tiger Bay) and Warlike ( Guns of Navarone, Von Braun , Chairman , The passage). His two biggest successes turned out to be ¨Guns of Navarone¨and ¨Cape Fear¨. Thereafter , the filmmaker's career subsided in a morass of slickly realized but middling films. He moved into the field of international spectaculars , at which point his filmmaking seemed to lose its individuality . J. Lee Thomson working from the 50s in England, finished his career making Chuck Norris (Firewalker) and Charles Bronson vehicles (Caboblanco , Evil that men do, Messenger of death, Death Wish 4 : Crackdown, Caboblanco, St Ives). Firewalker rating : Mediocre but passable , but it will appeal to Charles Bronson fans
A Bronson-movie with a strong supporting cast
Renaldo Matlin27 September 2003
One of the things that bugs me most about the later Charles Bronson-movies is that so many of them flaunt a terrible supporting cast. Don't get me wrong, it's great to see Stephen Elliott ham it up as Bronson's boss in "Assassination" or Juan Fernandez as a creepy pimp in "Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects" but aside from one or two OK performances good old Charlie was too often surrounded by grade-C actors or good but uninspired actors, the last two decades of his career.
"Messenger of Death" however, is an exception.
Here the legendary action-hero is surrounded by the likes of Jeff Corey, Daniel Benzali, John Ireland, Charles Dierkop (Police Woman) and given likeable female support from Trish Van Devere. The story itself is just average, but certainly not as ludicrous as the paper-thin material in movies like "Assassination" and "Death Wish 4" and "5" and you know where I'm going.
British veteran director J. Lee-Thompson (Cape Fear, The Guns of Navarone) did an impressive nine movies with Bronson, and "Messenger of Death" was their 8th teaming. It opens with a horrifying scene where a large family is executed in cold blood (the entire scene is brilliantly done and much better than what one would expect from someone who just did "Death Wish 4" and "Firewalker"). The movie then delivers a lot of beautiful scenery, a smashing action-scene with some trucks and a likeable finale where the guilty party is unmasked.
Compared to most Bronson-fare at the time this is better-than-average, much thanks to the afore mentioned good supporting cast. But don't expect mindless vigilante action, Bronson plays a reporter but he still gets to kick some ass, and he does a nice job considering he was in his late sixties at the time.
"Messenger of Death" however, is an exception.
Here the legendary action-hero is surrounded by the likes of Jeff Corey, Daniel Benzali, John Ireland, Charles Dierkop (Police Woman) and given likeable female support from Trish Van Devere. The story itself is just average, but certainly not as ludicrous as the paper-thin material in movies like "Assassination" and "Death Wish 4" and "5" and you know where I'm going.
British veteran director J. Lee-Thompson (Cape Fear, The Guns of Navarone) did an impressive nine movies with Bronson, and "Messenger of Death" was their 8th teaming. It opens with a horrifying scene where a large family is executed in cold blood (the entire scene is brilliantly done and much better than what one would expect from someone who just did "Death Wish 4" and "Firewalker"). The movie then delivers a lot of beautiful scenery, a smashing action-scene with some trucks and a likeable finale where the guilty party is unmasked.
Compared to most Bronson-fare at the time this is better-than-average, much thanks to the afore mentioned good supporting cast. But don't expect mindless vigilante action, Bronson plays a reporter but he still gets to kick some ass, and he does a nice job considering he was in his late sixties at the time.
Bad.
JoeytheBrit24 November 2005
Boy, this is a mess. This is one of those films that, on paper, look like they have a lot going for them but, when they put it on the screen, nothing meshes. There's a decent cast Bronson, van Devere, Benzali, Ireland, Corey and an intriguing setting, but the plot is fatally anaemic and the direction, considering it comes from an old trooper like Thompson, is surprisingly shoddy. Much of the acting is second-rate at best, while characters perform abrupt about turns for no explicable reason. For instance, Orville Beecham (Charles Dierkop), a clean-living Mormon farmer, is crazy for revenge after mysterious intruders murder his wives and children and yet is full of forgiveness after the rest of his family is wiped out in a gunfight.
The film opens well, with an atmospheric prologue in which two mysterious gunmen massacre the wives and children, although why the gunmen's identities are concealed is something of a mystery as they disappear for the next thirty minutes and are immediately confirmed as the killers when they re-appear. Anyway, from this neatly paced opener, the film goes rapidly downhill. Charles Bronson plays a Denver reporter who gets involved with the warring Mormon clans who go to war over the killings, and he's pretty bad here. He was 67 when the film was made, and he looks bloated and tired. On top of that, he's saddled with an awful script and a frankly ludicrous storyline which is a crime really because the unusual subject matter here deserves much better writing than that offered by 73-year-old writer Paul Jarrico. Director J. Lee Thompson manages a couple of effective scenes, and there is a good sequence in which two water tankers attempt to crush Bronson's vehicle on a winding country road, but for the most part his direction is flat and uninspired and the story simply fails to engage.
Bottom line: give this one a miss.
The film opens well, with an atmospheric prologue in which two mysterious gunmen massacre the wives and children, although why the gunmen's identities are concealed is something of a mystery as they disappear for the next thirty minutes and are immediately confirmed as the killers when they re-appear. Anyway, from this neatly paced opener, the film goes rapidly downhill. Charles Bronson plays a Denver reporter who gets involved with the warring Mormon clans who go to war over the killings, and he's pretty bad here. He was 67 when the film was made, and he looks bloated and tired. On top of that, he's saddled with an awful script and a frankly ludicrous storyline which is a crime really because the unusual subject matter here deserves much better writing than that offered by 73-year-old writer Paul Jarrico. Director J. Lee Thompson manages a couple of effective scenes, and there is a good sequence in which two water tankers attempt to crush Bronson's vehicle on a winding country road, but for the most part his direction is flat and uninspired and the story simply fails to engage.
Bottom line: give this one a miss.
Charlie and the Mormons-Massacre.
Coventry19 February 2008
Try and beat THIS for an opening sequence! Images of women amiably chatting and young children peacefully playing in the morning sun get barbarically interrupted when suddenly a shady figure holding a shotgun comes driving up to the house. Without speaking one word, the man unhesitatingly butchers the women (one pregnant one) before turning towards the children and shooting them too. The latter killings occur off screen but the footage is nonetheless shocking considering the madman's emotionless modus operandi. This bit of content represents the promising beginning of a compelling and highly suspenseful albeit flawed thriller starring the almighty Charles Bronson in an unconventional (at least, for him) role. Charlie depicts a journalist of the Denver newspaper who sinks his teeth into the circumstances surrounding the tragic massacre and stumbles upon a story bigger than he bargained for. The murders initially appear to be a dramatic consequence of a long-running vendetta between a separated family of Mormons, but our courageous reporter gradually uncovers a convoluted and inhumanly cruel conspiracy which concerns of course eminent politicians and wealthy businessmen. I honestly expected to find a slightly higher rating and more positive-toned reviews for "Messenger of Death" around here to be honest. Admittedly the evolution of the storyline is rather predictable and the eventual settlement is too tame, but the film definitely maintains a high tempo and a good number of sequences are very tense and literally action-packed. Charles Bronson tries his hardest to come across as a plausible journalist, but there are definitely some problems regarding his character. Bronson isn't exactly known as the most talkative actor in Hollywood; a trademark that usually fits his regular roles of mercenaries ("The Mechanic", "Violent City") and tormented avengers (the "Death Wish" franchise) very well. But even here his number of speeches and dialogs are kept to an absolute minimum, which isn't normal when you're a reporter. Moreover, in spite of his 'normal' job and life-style, he still wipes the floor with professional hit men and stunt-drives his way out of an assassination attempt! Since when do Denver journalists receive training in martial arts and defensive driving? The remote Colorado filming locations, as well as the largely unfamiliar traditions of Mormon families, add up to the ominous atmosphere but still director J. Lee Thompson ("Cape Fear", "The Guns of Navarone") doesn't use up the full potential of these terrific. "Messenger of Death" is an interesting film, to say the least, and it deserves a bit more appreciation from Bronson fanatics as well as fans of suspense films in general.
Gets worse as it goes along
chaswe-284024 October 2018
Hard to tell why anyone gives this film more stars than three. It starts rather dramatically and effectively, but then gets more and more aimless until the end, when it finally fizzles out completely. I was going to mention the utterly ludicrous chase of a car by two megatrucks, but somebody has already queried why the car didn't just stop, turn round and drive away. There's a lot of nothing really happening, although quite a lot of people get shot. Bronson doesn't get hit, of course. Some of the ones that die, survive, which is clever of them. I seem to have seen this film two or three times, having completely forgotten what it was about, although intrigued by the dvd case and the cast. Watch it if you like; any advice would be no help.
Messenger in-centsed
Thetwocentreviewbot4 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Instead of doing actual writing today I decided to procrastinate and view this 1980s Charles Bronson masterpiece.
Here are my two cents...
Bronson is a Denver journalist who find him self out for lunch and serial homicide one afternoon. It appears some whackjob lost his gauge on reality and unloaded on an entire Mormon family. Even killing the kids. It does not take a prophet to get the fact no one cares for this .
Bronson befriends the Mormon family patriarch and a strange friendship starts. He first tells the man's father who then accuses his own brother. We then hop off to Glenwood Springs , Colorado where the local not so friendly sheriff points Bronson to the farm of the accused brother.
After hitching a ride with one of the brothers many cousins , the accused brother accuses the brother who accused him. More back n forth than a washing machine in motion. Bronson doesn't buy it. The tanker truck that suddenly runs them off the road certainly makes the brothers doing it not wash. As Bronson digs deeper he finds the debutante of a very powerful businessman owns the tanker truck company.
Back home in New Zion the brother has decided that when it comes to the violent murder of his grand children God can sit judgment out. After organizing his flock he heads to Colorado for a shootout with his brother. Bronsan warns the brother moments before a shootout begins and during the fire fight learns this piece of land has billions of gallons of water under it , that guess what some nearby water company has been dying to get their hands on , even with all the pieces he can't stop both brothers from killing one another .
Afterwards , the tanker truck returns with its friends , and demolishes the vehicle Bronson Is leaving in. Back in Denver the chief of police is holding his first fundraiser via his old business partner Fox. After the death of a source and an earlier knife fight with the killer, Bronson comes face to face with the cutthroat again. After a brief struggle we get all the answers.
Disclaimer : A Golan - Globas production. That's 80's film speak for B- Rate , but remember without these two you would never know who Chuck Norris is.
I have to admit it was a good script no problem with it. The acting could be shaky at times and the direction clearly had a problem with achieving the psychological moods in scenes. There is enough here to pass a Sunday afternoon sometime but not much else.
Here are my two cents...
Bronson is a Denver journalist who find him self out for lunch and serial homicide one afternoon. It appears some whackjob lost his gauge on reality and unloaded on an entire Mormon family. Even killing the kids. It does not take a prophet to get the fact no one cares for this .
Bronson befriends the Mormon family patriarch and a strange friendship starts. He first tells the man's father who then accuses his own brother. We then hop off to Glenwood Springs , Colorado where the local not so friendly sheriff points Bronson to the farm of the accused brother.
After hitching a ride with one of the brothers many cousins , the accused brother accuses the brother who accused him. More back n forth than a washing machine in motion. Bronson doesn't buy it. The tanker truck that suddenly runs them off the road certainly makes the brothers doing it not wash. As Bronson digs deeper he finds the debutante of a very powerful businessman owns the tanker truck company.
Back home in New Zion the brother has decided that when it comes to the violent murder of his grand children God can sit judgment out. After organizing his flock he heads to Colorado for a shootout with his brother. Bronsan warns the brother moments before a shootout begins and during the fire fight learns this piece of land has billions of gallons of water under it , that guess what some nearby water company has been dying to get their hands on , even with all the pieces he can't stop both brothers from killing one another .
Afterwards , the tanker truck returns with its friends , and demolishes the vehicle Bronson Is leaving in. Back in Denver the chief of police is holding his first fundraiser via his old business partner Fox. After the death of a source and an earlier knife fight with the killer, Bronson comes face to face with the cutthroat again. After a brief struggle we get all the answers.
Disclaimer : A Golan - Globas production. That's 80's film speak for B- Rate , but remember without these two you would never know who Chuck Norris is.
I have to admit it was a good script no problem with it. The acting could be shaky at times and the direction clearly had a problem with achieving the psychological moods in scenes. There is enough here to pass a Sunday afternoon sometime but not much else.
Messenger of Death (1988) **
JoeKarlosi22 January 2008
Easily skip-able Charles Bronson movie that starts out strongly but doesn't follow through. He unconvincingly plays a Denver reporter covering a case of a Mormon family living in the Colorado mountains who had nine members massacred, including five children. He then sets out to find the killer by visiting the eccentric community and finds that much of the evidence leads to a family feud between two brothers, along with ties to a water company. Why Chuck's character would feel so personally bent on dealing out vengeance when it's not his own flesh and blood didn't ever strike me as authentic. J. Lee Thompson directs (as usual) and manages to serve up some pretty scenery along with a good cast including John Ireland and Jeff Corey, but this is rather weak tea. ** out of ****
Avenging Angel
elo-equipamentos16 April 2017
L'd watched this movie in December 1996 for first time on television, in that time l'd rated 5/10 but now on full length DVD with original audio it's seem much better, Cannon made a lot of movies during the 80' action movies and J Lee Thompson was really good director of this kind of movies, Messenger of Death has Charles Bronson as newspaper's reporter an unusual role to "Stone Face", the plot is totally improbable but is around two Mormons families whom are in clash after women and children massacre, but Bronson suspicious that the real reason is a Water Company, apart the plot the amazing Colorado landscape is breathtaking and the music score is properly fine, as always Bronson never disappoints his fans.
Revenge of the 80's: The Cannon films of Charles Bronson.
Captain_Couth7 February 2005
Messenger of Death (1988) was a huge disappointment for a Cannon film starring Charles Bronson. After making some very violent, sleazy and exploitive fare for Cannon, this movie was a big let down for fans of his eighties films. This was a boring and tedious movie. The direction was lackadaisical and the actor was pedestrian and unmotivated. Bronson looked extremely bored and was nearing the end of his acting career. This film expiated his retirement. Too bad because this film could have been a much better than what it turned out to be.
Charles Bronson had a good run during the early to mid eighties. It's a shame he couldn't have ended his career with a big bang instead of a boring movie and a few years later in a retread sequel to a dead film series. Fitting that his film career ended as Cannon films was dying as well.
Not recommended at all. Considering the talent in front and behind the camera.
Charles Bronson had a good run during the early to mid eighties. It's a shame he couldn't have ended his career with a big bang instead of a boring movie and a few years later in a retread sequel to a dead film series. Fitting that his film career ended as Cannon films was dying as well.
Not recommended at all. Considering the talent in front and behind the camera.
Everything okay, except the title...
jéwé4 June 2006
Messenger of Death gives us a fast-paced and very efficient directed action movie (Thompson cuts the crap and always is completely to the point) with Bronson in quite a different sort of role (as a matter of fact, he kills nobody in the movie even acts as peace-keeper in some way) playing a journalist from Denver. One wonders if Cannon were only interested in getting the video rented when they came up with this title, especially in the context of the poster. People who think that Bronson himself is the Messenger will be disappointed, people interested in a decent story will pass this on for all the wrong reasons. The music score is great, the plot-twist okay and the scenery makes for something completely different after seeing Charlie death-wishing in the Big City gutters. And before I forget : Bronson's side-kick is played by the beautiful and great actress Trish van Devere. I only remember her from a Columbo episode long, long ago. Wasn't that 'Make me a perfect Murder ?'
An action movie of a different kind for Charles Bronson...
legendaryunderdog30 June 2008
Director J. Lee Thompson used Charles Bronson more than any other actor in his eighties movies (Ten to Midnight, Cabo Blanco, Death Wish 4, Murphys Law) and this was his second to last outing with Bronson (the last being Kinjite:Forbidden Subjects). Charles Bronson plays Garrett Smith, a reporter who is very curious as to why a family of Mormons (women and children) were all shot to death in a rural farmhouse. He finds a sketch of an angel on a piece of paper that is taped to the wall where one of the victims bodies had laid against. From here, Bronson goes from source to source to try to unravel whatever mystery he has bounded himself in. For those who prefer the 'Paul Kersey/Death Wish' Charles Bronson, you might wanna look elsewhere for a movie, this is a Bronson action character of a different type. He seems to be a very laidback individual and he doesn't really possess that knack of persistently annoying people like most reporters do, but Bronson as usual makes the character work. The plot is very strong, the mystery of the movie definitely kept me guessing until the very, very end of the movie and then BANG! it's all over... I miss Cannon films...
A Different Kind of Bronson Film
Michael_Elliott4 December 2015
Messenger of Death (1988)
** (out of 4)
After three women and several children of a Mormon family are brutally murdered, reporter Garret Smith (Charles Bronson) begins to investigate and it seems the possible suspect might be between two rival members of that family. As the reporter gets deeper into his investigation his own life comes into jeopardy.
MESSENGER OF DEATH is that Bronson movie where he kills nobody. With that said, it should come as no surprise that this film was the least popular of his Cannon movies at both the box office and the video rental market. If you ask die-hard Bronson fans what their least favorite Cannon film is more than likely they're going to name this if they've even seen it. MESSENGER OF DEATH doesn't completely work but it's still a mildly entertaining mystery that at least gives us a chance to see Bronson in a different type of role.
J. Lee Thompson does a pretty good job in his directing duties and especially during the opening sequence where a mystery man enters a house and murders several people. The editing of this sequence is very well-done and the director handles it quite well. I'd argue that we're also given a couple fun action scenes including Bronson in a jeep going up against a couple semis trying to run him off the road. As far as the legend actor goes, for the most part he's actually pretty good here. He's certainly believable as a reporter and it's nice seeing him in this type of role. The supporting cast is also good in their parts and you'll also see some familiar faces including Gene Davis (10 TO MIDNIGHT), Tom Everett and Kimberly Beck (FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER).
So, where does MESSENGER OF DEATH go wrong? For starters, the budget was extremely low so I'm sure many interesting scenes were never filmed. Another problem is that its main story just isn't all that interesting. The mystery aspect could have been played up a lot better but too often the film falls back to a formula action picture where we see Bronson whooping up on people. These action scenes just don't sit too well with an otherwise talky picture. MESSENGER OF DEATH isn't your typical Bronson movie but it's certainly not the worst of his career.
** (out of 4)
After three women and several children of a Mormon family are brutally murdered, reporter Garret Smith (Charles Bronson) begins to investigate and it seems the possible suspect might be between two rival members of that family. As the reporter gets deeper into his investigation his own life comes into jeopardy.
MESSENGER OF DEATH is that Bronson movie where he kills nobody. With that said, it should come as no surprise that this film was the least popular of his Cannon movies at both the box office and the video rental market. If you ask die-hard Bronson fans what their least favorite Cannon film is more than likely they're going to name this if they've even seen it. MESSENGER OF DEATH doesn't completely work but it's still a mildly entertaining mystery that at least gives us a chance to see Bronson in a different type of role.
J. Lee Thompson does a pretty good job in his directing duties and especially during the opening sequence where a mystery man enters a house and murders several people. The editing of this sequence is very well-done and the director handles it quite well. I'd argue that we're also given a couple fun action scenes including Bronson in a jeep going up against a couple semis trying to run him off the road. As far as the legend actor goes, for the most part he's actually pretty good here. He's certainly believable as a reporter and it's nice seeing him in this type of role. The supporting cast is also good in their parts and you'll also see some familiar faces including Gene Davis (10 TO MIDNIGHT), Tom Everett and Kimberly Beck (FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER).
So, where does MESSENGER OF DEATH go wrong? For starters, the budget was extremely low so I'm sure many interesting scenes were never filmed. Another problem is that its main story just isn't all that interesting. The mystery aspect could have been played up a lot better but too often the film falls back to a formula action picture where we see Bronson whooping up on people. These action scenes just don't sit too well with an otherwise talky picture. MESSENGER OF DEATH isn't your typical Bronson movie but it's certainly not the worst of his career.
Different Role For Bronson.
AaronCapenBanner24 September 2013
Charles Bronson plays a Denver Tribune crime reporter named Garret Smith who is investigating the circumstances of a massacre in the isolated Mormon community between two feuding brothers, both of whom deny responsibility, though blame the other. Turns out a third party is trying to cause a rift between them, so that their valuable property can be seized. Smith then becomes determined to find out who, even at risk to his own life.
Surprisingly different role for Charles Bronson(he does not play the title character!) and he is quite good in it too, clearly enjoying doing something different. It's too bad that the film, while interesting, peters out into such an obvious conspiracy thriller, since it could have instead took a thoughtful look at the Mormon community, rather than having it in the background. Still, one of the better Bronson films from the end of his career.
Surprisingly different role for Charles Bronson(he does not play the title character!) and he is quite good in it too, clearly enjoying doing something different. It's too bad that the film, while interesting, peters out into such an obvious conspiracy thriller, since it could have instead took a thoughtful look at the Mormon community, rather than having it in the background. Still, one of the better Bronson films from the end of his career.
Surprising and interesting
norbert-plan-618-7158137 May 2022
A movie where Charles Bronson doesn't kill anyone. Despite the title. Despite the poster or the video cover. There are indeed deaths, in a Mormon family, where children and women are massacred (this is the beginning of the film). Charles Bronson is a journalist who investigates to understand why a family of Mormons has been decimated. He conducts the investigation on his own, at his own pace, independently of the police, supported by his newspaper, which wants to create a sensation.
The documentary side of the film presents us with the thought patterns of these Mormons, where God's will (which explains everything) and vengeance go hand in hand, in a country where guns are freely available. The messenger of death is the killer who decimated the family, unrelated to the character of Charles Bronson who investigates. Or, the journalist through his investigation, who will indirectly provoke reprisals between Mormon families.
Another interesting element of the film is the natural settings of Colorado. Let's add a superb music that can make us think of a horror movie: the composer, Robert O. Ragland is unknown to us, but has signed many film scores. This one is interesting, because it suits the suspense and horror.
The film ends with evil capitalists and politicians greedy for money.
The film can be watched without any problem. The scenes in the city (Denver, the capitalists, the important people) are the perfect counterpoint to the scenes in the countryside where Charles Bronson investigates and ends up putting the pieces of the puzzle together in the Mormon farms.
The documentary side of the film presents us with the thought patterns of these Mormons, where God's will (which explains everything) and vengeance go hand in hand, in a country where guns are freely available. The messenger of death is the killer who decimated the family, unrelated to the character of Charles Bronson who investigates. Or, the journalist through his investigation, who will indirectly provoke reprisals between Mormon families.
Another interesting element of the film is the natural settings of Colorado. Let's add a superb music that can make us think of a horror movie: the composer, Robert O. Ragland is unknown to us, but has signed many film scores. This one is interesting, because it suits the suspense and horror.
The film ends with evil capitalists and politicians greedy for money.
The film can be watched without any problem. The scenes in the city (Denver, the capitalists, the important people) are the perfect counterpoint to the scenes in the countryside where Charles Bronson investigates and ends up putting the pieces of the puzzle together in the Mormon farms.
A generic Bronson movie...
paul_haakonsen5 April 2019
Well, I must be honest that the sole reason for why I sat down to watch "Messenger of Death" in 2019 - and for the first time seeing it, mind you - was because of Charles Bronson starring in it.
So was it worth waiting 31 years before watching "Messenger of Death"? Hardly. Sure, this was an entertaining enough movie for what it was. Which was a straight forward, action packed movie starring Charles Bronson.
The storyline was running on autopilot and offered very little in terms of surprises or plot twists along the way. This was sort of a shame, because it gave the movie a very mundane and generic feel to it. And I actually dozed off once or twice along the way - not that it resulted in me missing out on anything vital to the story.
For a Charles Bronson movie, then "Messenger of Death" is fairly to the point. You know what to expect, and that is exactly what you get, for better or worse.
There is actually a fair amount of violence and action in the movie, but never to the point where it became too much.
While "Messenger of Death" certainly is entertaining enough for what it turned out to be, then this is hardly a classic, nor is it a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time around.
So was it worth waiting 31 years before watching "Messenger of Death"? Hardly. Sure, this was an entertaining enough movie for what it was. Which was a straight forward, action packed movie starring Charles Bronson.
The storyline was running on autopilot and offered very little in terms of surprises or plot twists along the way. This was sort of a shame, because it gave the movie a very mundane and generic feel to it. And I actually dozed off once or twice along the way - not that it resulted in me missing out on anything vital to the story.
For a Charles Bronson movie, then "Messenger of Death" is fairly to the point. You know what to expect, and that is exactly what you get, for better or worse.
There is actually a fair amount of violence and action in the movie, but never to the point where it became too much.
While "Messenger of Death" certainly is entertaining enough for what it turned out to be, then this is hardly a classic, nor is it a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time around.
Very Good Bronson Thriller, That's At Times Creepy With An Amazing Performance From Charles Bronson!
callanvass8 July 2005
This is a very good Bronson thriller, that's at times creepy, with an amazing performance from Charles Bronson!. It's pretty engaging, and at times very creepy, and the ending was very memorable, plus it had quite a few shocking moments. The first 10 minutes were absolutely fantastic, it had lots of tension and was very creepy, and it was cool to see Bronson do something different, plus it was unpredictable throughout!. If your looking for lots of action, look elsewhere, however if your looking for a very good thriller, look no further as the film provides plenty of thrills and suspense!, plus the finale was great and very suspenseful. I wasn't expecting much from this film, because a lot of people consider it to be one of Bronson's worst, however i enjoyed it very much and i highly recommend it!. The Direction is very good. J. Lee Thompson does a very good job here, with good camera work and keeping the film at an engaging pace!. There is a tiny bit of blood. We get quite a few bloody gunshot wounds but that's it. The Acting is excellent!. Charles Bronson is AMAZING as he always was, and is Amazing here, he is extremely likable, convincing, was intense, kicked that ass, and was tons of fun to watch! (Bronson ruled!). Trish Van Devere is okay with what she had to do, and did her job adequately. Laurence Luckinbill is good when he was on screen and did his job well. Daniel Benzali is also good with what she had to do. Charles Dierkop,Jeff Corey and John Ireland are all awesome as the Beecham's. rest of the cast are fine. Overall highly recommended!. ***1/2 out of 5
Bronson Gets A Byline.
rmax30482325 April 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Well, this doesn't mitigate the sump that Charles Bronson found himself in in the 1980s but at least it's a variation on his them of hard-boiled avenger. Here, he's an investigative reporter for a Denver newspaper. He only fires a gun once, and at an empty coffin. He gets to beat hell out of a scowling would-be assassin -- twice -- but the blood is minimal. He never wrenches off anyone's head with a wisecrack and pees down the neck cavity. That has to be a variation, right? The story is pretty simple. The women of a rural family in Colorado are slaughtered along with half a dozen young children by mysterious visitors. Bronson is on the case. The patriarch, luckily absent at the time of the shootings, leads Bronson to an angry fundamentalist Mormon of the John Brown type -- all bulging eyes, stentorian voice, and over-sized gestures. That would be Jeff Corey. The massacred family was part of Corey's flock. Corey blames his brother, a balding John Ireland, who runs a huge farm nearby. Bronson intervenes when the two feuding families begin to exchange shots but both Corey and Ireland are offed -- not by their opposing clans but by outside snipers on a distant hill. Something like that anyway. Who cares? It made no difference to the screenwriter.
Those distant snipers, it turns out, represent the Colorado Water Company. Water is precious in them thar hills. There's plenty of water to drink but far more has to be shipped in at great expense to provide the six barrels of water that the shale company needs to produce one barrel of oil. Ireland's farm is sitting on top of a huge aquifer that would provide all the water for a pittance but Ireland has refused to sell. "This is our land. We live on it. It's our home," and so forth.
Well, you see, the Colorado Water Company WANTS that land of Ireland. To them, it's an emerald isle. So someone is trying to start a feud between Corey's clan and Ireland's clan in hopes that, with the land passing into other hands, the Colorado Water Company can buy it up.
But who's behind it all? Bronson, through his newspaper, knows some of Denver's elite, including the owners of the Water Company. You can tell they're the elite because, at parties, they wear tuxedos, sip champagne, and nibble canapés instead of wolfing down Rocky Mountain oysters after a shot and a beer. But, although the chief miscreants are somewhere among them, it's hard to tell just who they are. There's the ambitious Chief of Police running for mayor. There's Laurence Luckinbill as a good-natured pal of everybody. And there are the owners of Colorado Water, the husband who gave the company to his wife as a Christmas present, and the pretty wife who seems to know nothing about managing the company.
The film is more of a mystery than an action movie, and that's rather refreshing in itself. I mean, imagine, Bronson only slugging a snarling heavy twice and shooting a gun only once. Still there's a nifty scene of Bronson and his colleague, Trish Vandevere, almost being squashed between two eighteen-wheeled tankers. It's a familiar crisis though. I always find myself wondering why the driver of the car doesn't just stop his vehicle and let the two trucks keep going.
If you or I were to make a "Charles Bronson Movie", we might do it exactly the way that Golan/Globus did. You begin with a sloppy screenplay that ends with a ludicrous climax. And you hire a director and all the principal actors who are over the hill, just sitting around somewhere in Tonopah, Nevada, living off residuals. They don't have to act, anyway, just say their lines and move along. It doesn't matter if, like Charles Dierkop, the patriarch of the slaughtered family, you can hardly act at all. What difference does it make when you're given nothing but stilted lines that avoid contractions in order to sound some Biblical resonance -- "We did not ask you to come; we do not ask you to stay; it is the Lord's angels who will seek out vengeance." Mormons don't speak like that, not even the polygynous fundamentalists who lived in Short Creek, Arizona, fifty years ago. Nor do they call themselves "Mormons." That's a Gentile appellation. They are LDS to each other. On top of that, Mormon angels don't have wings, unlike those shown in this flick. I suppose the writers avoided setting the story in the location we'd have expected, Appalachia, because the stereotype had become too familiar. So they created a new set of stereotypes.
I was glad that the film gave Bronson a chance to wash the gunpowder residue off his hands and that we get to see some of Colorado's magnificently chilly scenery -- but what a sloppy job by all concerned.
Those distant snipers, it turns out, represent the Colorado Water Company. Water is precious in them thar hills. There's plenty of water to drink but far more has to be shipped in at great expense to provide the six barrels of water that the shale company needs to produce one barrel of oil. Ireland's farm is sitting on top of a huge aquifer that would provide all the water for a pittance but Ireland has refused to sell. "This is our land. We live on it. It's our home," and so forth.
Well, you see, the Colorado Water Company WANTS that land of Ireland. To them, it's an emerald isle. So someone is trying to start a feud between Corey's clan and Ireland's clan in hopes that, with the land passing into other hands, the Colorado Water Company can buy it up.
But who's behind it all? Bronson, through his newspaper, knows some of Denver's elite, including the owners of the Water Company. You can tell they're the elite because, at parties, they wear tuxedos, sip champagne, and nibble canapés instead of wolfing down Rocky Mountain oysters after a shot and a beer. But, although the chief miscreants are somewhere among them, it's hard to tell just who they are. There's the ambitious Chief of Police running for mayor. There's Laurence Luckinbill as a good-natured pal of everybody. And there are the owners of Colorado Water, the husband who gave the company to his wife as a Christmas present, and the pretty wife who seems to know nothing about managing the company.
The film is more of a mystery than an action movie, and that's rather refreshing in itself. I mean, imagine, Bronson only slugging a snarling heavy twice and shooting a gun only once. Still there's a nifty scene of Bronson and his colleague, Trish Vandevere, almost being squashed between two eighteen-wheeled tankers. It's a familiar crisis though. I always find myself wondering why the driver of the car doesn't just stop his vehicle and let the two trucks keep going.
If you or I were to make a "Charles Bronson Movie", we might do it exactly the way that Golan/Globus did. You begin with a sloppy screenplay that ends with a ludicrous climax. And you hire a director and all the principal actors who are over the hill, just sitting around somewhere in Tonopah, Nevada, living off residuals. They don't have to act, anyway, just say their lines and move along. It doesn't matter if, like Charles Dierkop, the patriarch of the slaughtered family, you can hardly act at all. What difference does it make when you're given nothing but stilted lines that avoid contractions in order to sound some Biblical resonance -- "We did not ask you to come; we do not ask you to stay; it is the Lord's angels who will seek out vengeance." Mormons don't speak like that, not even the polygynous fundamentalists who lived in Short Creek, Arizona, fifty years ago. Nor do they call themselves "Mormons." That's a Gentile appellation. They are LDS to each other. On top of that, Mormon angels don't have wings, unlike those shown in this flick. I suppose the writers avoided setting the story in the location we'd have expected, Appalachia, because the stereotype had become too familiar. So they created a new set of stereotypes.
I was glad that the film gave Bronson a chance to wash the gunpowder residue off his hands and that we get to see some of Colorado's magnificently chilly scenery -- but what a sloppy job by all concerned.
Blood and Water Don't Mix
sol121821 November 2003
Charles Bronson plays investigative reporter Garret Smith for the Denver Tribune in this motion picture about a blood feud between two brothers, of different Mormon sects. With outside political as well as economic overtones.
A decent story about religious jealousy and the behind the scenes politics of exploiting it. The feud between brothers Willis, Jeff Corey, and Zenas, John Ireland, Beecham is instigated when Willis' son's Orville's, Charles Dierkop, family is massacred. Willis believes that it was the work of Zenas and starts an all out war against his brother which ends with both brothers getting killed. But there's something else that has nothing to do with the feud between the brother's that's central to the story: A lake of artesian water under brother's Zenas' property that can be used to turn common and plentiful shale into valuable and scarce fuel oil.
Charles Bronson is still believable, at age 67, as the tough reporter that gets to the bottom of the story with his fists as well as his typewriter to uncover the truth about Orville's family being murdered. As well as who ordered it that instigated a war between his father and uncle and why.
With the exception of the beginning the movie "Messenger of Death" cuts down on the violence and concentrated more on the story which made the movie more interesting to watch. And also gave the audience more time to think who's behind the murders that happened to the Orville Beecham family which built up to a better then average ending.
The ending of "Messenger of Death" though a bit contrived and what seemed forced still tied the story together and made it believable. One of Charles Bronson's best later efforts when he was still effective as an action hero, or in this case an action reporter, on the screen.
A decent story about religious jealousy and the behind the scenes politics of exploiting it. The feud between brothers Willis, Jeff Corey, and Zenas, John Ireland, Beecham is instigated when Willis' son's Orville's, Charles Dierkop, family is massacred. Willis believes that it was the work of Zenas and starts an all out war against his brother which ends with both brothers getting killed. But there's something else that has nothing to do with the feud between the brother's that's central to the story: A lake of artesian water under brother's Zenas' property that can be used to turn common and plentiful shale into valuable and scarce fuel oil.
Charles Bronson is still believable, at age 67, as the tough reporter that gets to the bottom of the story with his fists as well as his typewriter to uncover the truth about Orville's family being murdered. As well as who ordered it that instigated a war between his father and uncle and why.
With the exception of the beginning the movie "Messenger of Death" cuts down on the violence and concentrated more on the story which made the movie more interesting to watch. And also gave the audience more time to think who's behind the murders that happened to the Orville Beecham family which built up to a better then average ending.
The ending of "Messenger of Death" though a bit contrived and what seemed forced still tied the story together and made it believable. One of Charles Bronson's best later efforts when he was still effective as an action hero, or in this case an action reporter, on the screen.
Meh-ssenger of death......
FlashCallahan5 April 2015
Warning: Spoilers
The wife and children of the Mormon Orville Beecham become victims of a massacre in his own house.
The police believe the crime had a religious motive. Orville doesn't give any comment on the case, is taken into protective custody.
Journalist Smith persuades him to help him in the investigation - and finds out about the economic motives for the murder......
Coming from Cannon pictures, and being released between two of Bronsons greatest films of the eighties, I was expecting some silly action film that would make me laugh for all,the wrong reasons, but blimey, this is something else.
It's basically Bronson playing a nosey reporter who gets involved in other people's business and spends the majority of the film in a long warm coat.
To say its his most annoying performance is an understatement, there are time when you really start to root for the bad guys, because Bronson just turns up every now and again with that smug look on his face, and you know he's going to go a snooping again.
Now, I'm quite aware that's a journalists job, but he really takes it up to 11 at times.
But there are a couple of pluses. It has the best faked heart attack I've ever seen, and then Bronson proving a point by shooting a coffin.
And the ending, the ending is fantastic. It literally finishes with Bronson turning around with a look that's either saying 'is that all done then?', or 'that was a bit harsh'.
Believe me, it finishes like a Columbo two parter, but the first part cliffhanger.
And it's worth the insufferable ninety previous minutes.
The police believe the crime had a religious motive. Orville doesn't give any comment on the case, is taken into protective custody.
Journalist Smith persuades him to help him in the investigation - and finds out about the economic motives for the murder......
Coming from Cannon pictures, and being released between two of Bronsons greatest films of the eighties, I was expecting some silly action film that would make me laugh for all,the wrong reasons, but blimey, this is something else.
It's basically Bronson playing a nosey reporter who gets involved in other people's business and spends the majority of the film in a long warm coat.
To say its his most annoying performance is an understatement, there are time when you really start to root for the bad guys, because Bronson just turns up every now and again with that smug look on his face, and you know he's going to go a snooping again.
Now, I'm quite aware that's a journalists job, but he really takes it up to 11 at times.
But there are a couple of pluses. It has the best faked heart attack I've ever seen, and then Bronson proving a point by shooting a coffin.
And the ending, the ending is fantastic. It literally finishes with Bronson turning around with a look that's either saying 'is that all done then?', or 'that was a bit harsh'.
Believe me, it finishes like a Columbo two parter, but the first part cliffhanger.
And it's worth the insufferable ninety previous minutes.
Why all the low ratings on these Bronson movies
MikeWindgren22 October 2019
Not the best of Bronson / Thompson collaborations, but still an interesting 'whodunit', showing astonishing landscapes and a professional group of good supporting actors !!
DeuceWild_774 September 2019
Eighth collaboration between the legendary director Jack Lee Thompson ("The Guns of Navarone", "Cape Fear") and the manly star, Charles Bronson, started with "St.Ives" ('76) and going through the 80's decade in several successful Cannon Group produced movies such as "10 to Midnight" ('83); "The Evil That Men Do" ('84) and "Murphy's Law" ('86) until their last, "Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects" ('89), before Thompson retired, "Messenger of Death", released September, '88, wasn't the most triumphant in box office terms, neither one of the best as a movie itself, but inserted some interesting aspects in their long list of movies together.
First of all, Bronson plays a reporter here, Garret Smith, working for a Denver newspaper, doing a private investigation, and not the usual vigilante in a killing spree or the offbeat cop.
Secondly, the movie enters in the religious territory of the fundamentalist Mormons, and works more as a thriller / whodunit / mystery than a typical Bronson's action vehicle.
Thirdly, the supporting cast is very good, from screen legend John Ireland ("Red River"), who delivered the best performance in the movie, to character actors Jeff Corey and Charles Dierkop, who appeared in many old fashioned westerns, plus Mrs. George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere ("The Changeling", '79); Laurence Luckinbill; Daniel Benzali and even Gene Davis, the psychopath from "10 to Midnight", re-teaming here with Bronson & J.L.Thompson and playing a toned down version of that character.
The cinematography by Gideon Porath wasn't that bad for a low budget Cannon flick, offering astonishing visuals of landscapes, including aerial shots, and some action sequences, such the two trucks trying to smash Bronson's car, are competent in a technical level that a veteran filmmaker like Thompson can direct even without the needed money. The opening sequence is also brilliantly staged & directed and eerie as much as Jack Lee could do.
The main problems are that much of the budget went to shot certain background scenes and in particular, the few action sequences there are in the movie, leaving the rest with a cheaply 'made for TV' look and feel and the writing should have been better in the 2nd half to flesh out the story & characters more. The ending is abrupt and not at all satisfactory.
As for Bronson, he never disappointed his loyal fanbase, he could have played a cop, a vigilante, a fireman, a reporter or even a priest and his on screen persona would ooze machismo, bravery and the old fashioned sense of valours that captivates the viewer into following him in his personal demand.
In short, "Messenger of Death" is less action oriented than what we could expect from an 80's Bronson / Jack Lee flick, but still a watchable entry in their resumes.
I give it a 6.5 !!
First of all, Bronson plays a reporter here, Garret Smith, working for a Denver newspaper, doing a private investigation, and not the usual vigilante in a killing spree or the offbeat cop.
Secondly, the movie enters in the religious territory of the fundamentalist Mormons, and works more as a thriller / whodunit / mystery than a typical Bronson's action vehicle.
Thirdly, the supporting cast is very good, from screen legend John Ireland ("Red River"), who delivered the best performance in the movie, to character actors Jeff Corey and Charles Dierkop, who appeared in many old fashioned westerns, plus Mrs. George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere ("The Changeling", '79); Laurence Luckinbill; Daniel Benzali and even Gene Davis, the psychopath from "10 to Midnight", re-teaming here with Bronson & J.L.Thompson and playing a toned down version of that character.
The cinematography by Gideon Porath wasn't that bad for a low budget Cannon flick, offering astonishing visuals of landscapes, including aerial shots, and some action sequences, such the two trucks trying to smash Bronson's car, are competent in a technical level that a veteran filmmaker like Thompson can direct even without the needed money. The opening sequence is also brilliantly staged & directed and eerie as much as Jack Lee could do.
The main problems are that much of the budget went to shot certain background scenes and in particular, the few action sequences there are in the movie, leaving the rest with a cheaply 'made for TV' look and feel and the writing should have been better in the 2nd half to flesh out the story & characters more. The ending is abrupt and not at all satisfactory.
As for Bronson, he never disappointed his loyal fanbase, he could have played a cop, a vigilante, a fireman, a reporter or even a priest and his on screen persona would ooze machismo, bravery and the old fashioned sense of valours that captivates the viewer into following him in his personal demand.
In short, "Messenger of Death" is less action oriented than what we could expect from an 80's Bronson / Jack Lee flick, but still a watchable entry in their resumes.
I give it a 6.5 !!
Forgettable late '80s Bronson flick
Groverdox11 May 2019
"Messenger of Death" has an attempt at a bit more story than a lot of the Charles Bronson '80s Cannon fodder, but it's pretty unsuccessful at telling it.
Bronson for some reason plays a reporter, though we never see him do anything a reporter might actually do. He behaves exactly like a cop. Could it be that he was supposed to be a cop originally, but the filmmakers thought people were tired of seeing him as a cop in every movie, so they decided to just call him a reporter instead?
The plot is something to do with a dispute between two Mormon families where one group kills the family of the other. The beginning, showing this massacre, and the ending, showing an elderly Charles Bronson beating up some guy, are the movie's only memorable scenes.
Gene Davis, the guy who played the naked slasher in "10 to Midnight", also makes an appearance, but in a far more forgettable role. Other than him and Bronson himself I didn't recognize anyone in "Messenger of Death", and the movie is pretty much entirely forgettable.
Bronson for some reason plays a reporter, though we never see him do anything a reporter might actually do. He behaves exactly like a cop. Could it be that he was supposed to be a cop originally, but the filmmakers thought people were tired of seeing him as a cop in every movie, so they decided to just call him a reporter instead?
The plot is something to do with a dispute between two Mormon families where one group kills the family of the other. The beginning, showing this massacre, and the ending, showing an elderly Charles Bronson beating up some guy, are the movie's only memorable scenes.
Gene Davis, the guy who played the naked slasher in "10 to Midnight", also makes an appearance, but in a far more forgettable role. Other than him and Bronson himself I didn't recognize anyone in "Messenger of Death", and the movie is pretty much entirely forgettable.
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