The Evil That Men Do (1984)

Director: J. Lee Thompson

Starring: Charles Bronson, Theresa Saldana, Joseph Maher, Jose Ferrer, John Glover

More info: IMDb

Tagline: In the execution of justice there is no executioner like BRONSON

Plot: A professional killer comes out of retirement to investigate and avenge the brutal murder of an old friend.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Naturally.

#74 on Project: Badass Charles Bronson

BRONSON'S AGE: 63
LEVEL OF BADASSICITY (10 being the highest): 11


Bronson had been rocking the international stardom wave big time ever since DEATH WISH (1974) and by the 1980s, projects were being tailor made for him that basically put him in a Paul Kersey/DEATH WISH kind of mode where he exacted revenge for whatever reason, killing bad guys left and right. It doesn't take long in this picture to realize who's got to go and they need to go slow and painfully...only Bronson doesn't believe in killing slow.

Know what's in that bag Bronson's carrying?
Chuck Norris's head!

I couldn't place The Doctor (top level evil dude played by Joseph Maher) until I looked at his credits. Of course, he's the butler in one of my favorite movies, HEAVEN CAN WAIT (1979). Jose Ferrer seems to be calling it in and Theresa Saldana was over the top but all of that doesn't mean spit when you've got Charles Bronson pulling the trigger.

No one is safe around Bronson.
He even intimidates the phones!

Here's a little something for the ladies...


The kills are great. Every single one. There's plenty of action and violence to keep any Bronson fan satisfied. The plot has some problems, the main one being that Bronson refuses (and rightfully so) to let his dead friend's wife and child go with him to Guatemala to hunt down the men responsible for her husband's death. She's too close but it doesn't take Bronson a minute to change his mind. If she had stayed home we would have had a better movie because A) she and her daughter get in the way of Bronson doing what he does best, and that's fuckin' up mother fuckers and B) she's fucking annoying as hell and needs to go.

But I can forgive that because of the following scene...

IS THAT OFF THE FUCKING CHARTS OR WHAT?!?! One by one Bronson starts picking off the guys who surround The Doctor which includes a US ambassador!!! This one isn't going to make my top Bronson 10 but even in Bronson's top 40, it's more entertaining than most action pictures these days.