Death Sentence 2007

In the quiet suburban life of Nick Hume (Kevin Bacon), husband to his loving wife and father to two young sons, Brendan and Luke, a sense of order and precision prevails. As Vice President of an insurance company, Nick’s passion for balanced books and meticulous planning is matched only by his dedication to family. On a fateful evening, after a hockey game, Nick and Brendan embark on the familiar routine of driving home, their headlights flashing in courtesy to two passing cars whose beams had been extinguished. A quick stop at a gas station to refuel follows, during which Brendan steps out to indulge in a smoothie while Nick keeps watch.

As fate would have it, the very same cars they passed earlier, crewed by rough-looking individuals with nefarious intentions, arrive at the gas station, intent on committing a robbery. The station owner, ever vigilant, reaches for his trusty firearm, only to be spotted and brutally executed by one of the gang members. In a chilling turn of events, it becomes clear that this heinous act was orchestrated as a rite of passage for a new gang member, Joe, seeking to prove himself as a “man.” As chaos erupts, Nick gives chase, tackling Joe in a desperate bid to apprehend him. Although he manages to tear off Joe’s mask, the perpetrator escapes, leaving behind a trail of blood and devastation.

As the hospital emergency room pronounces Brendan’s fate, Nick is plunged into a world of anguish and despair. The District Attorney’s revelation that Joe would likely receive a paltry sentence, if the case were to proceed through the courts, only serves to fuel Nick’s sense of injustice. In a bold move, he refuses to identify Joe, forcing the DA to drop the case. This decision sets in motion a chain reaction that will have far-reaching consequences.

As night descends, Nick becomes consumed by an insatiable hunger for vengeance. With calculated precision, he tracks down his quarry to their apartment complex and exacts a brutal revenge upon the unsuspecting Joe, finally bringing closure to a tragedy that has left him shattered and forever changed.

As the specter of vengeance hangs heavy over the Humes family, a ruthless vendetta unfolds, fueled by the cold calculation of Joe’s older brother, Billy. With a relentless zeal, Billy and his gang of thugs set their sights on Nick, eliminating potential suspects and tracking him down with calculated precision. A brazen daylight ambush outside Nick’s office serves as the catalyst for a violent confrontation that sends shockwaves rippling through the city. As the dust settles, Nick emerges victorious but not unscathed, having claimed another life during a pitched rooftop battle atop a parking garage.

Meanwhile, the police struggle to connect the dots between Nick and the gang, hamstrung by a lack of concrete evidence. When Billy takes his intimidation tactics to the next level, threatening Nick’s family with unspeakable harm, law enforcement intervenes, assigning a pair of officers to provide protection. But in a devastating turn of events, the very men entrusted with safeguarding the Humes are brutally murdered, clearing the way for Billy and his cohorts to exact their brutal revenge.

Nick awakens in the hospital, battered but alive, only to discover that Luke is clinging to life in a coma while Helen’s lifeless body lies nearby. The weight of this tragedy crushes him, prompting Nick to visit his comatose son and impart a poignant truth: “Life doesn’t add up in neat columns like we thought it would.” He shares the same wisdom with Detective Wallis (Aisha Tyler), confessing, “It was never going to balance. Sometimes it’s just chaos.”

With a newfound determination, Nick makes a daring escape from the hospital, slipping out through his son’s window under police protection. The next morning finds him divesting himself of all assets and seeking Owen’s expertise in tracking down the phone number left by Billy’s goons.

At the Four Roses bar, Nick employs a combination of charm and intimidation to extract information from the bartender, leading him to Bones (John Goodman), a shady auto mechanic with ties to the black market. Nick’s substantial cash reserves grant him access to an arsenal of deadly weapons: a .357 Magnum revolver, a Colt .45 semi-automatic pistol, and a double-barreled 12-gauge shotgun, complete with instruction booklets and ammunition.

In this tense encounter, Bones reveals his connection to Billy and Joe, their father. However, he chooses not to intervene, believing that Billy’s actions are a direct affront to his authority, leaving Nick free to chart his own course in this increasingly treacherous landscape.

As Nick readies for a potentially perilous confrontation, he undergoes a symbolic transformation: he shaves his head to a rough stubble and dons his son Brendan’s iconic black leather jacket, signaling a departure from his past self. With this newfound resolve, he tracks down one of the gang members to their apartment, where he employs forceful persuasion to extract crucial information about the gang’s whereabouts. The coerced gang member is then brutally silenced by Nick’s gunshot, with Billy listening in via phone.

Meanwhile, Bones makes a desperate attempt to warn Billy of Nick’s impending actions, lashing out at his continued mistakes as they drive down to a local underpass. However, this warning falls on deaf ears, as Billy coldly dispatches Bones and commandeers his father’s car, heading back towards the gang’s stronghold: “The Office,” an abandoned hospital that serves as their lair for cultivating and manufacturing illicit substances like marijuana and crystal meth.

Nick commandeers a gang member’s vehicle and sets his sights on the van parked outside their headquarters. With calculated precision, he rams the van, splintering it in half and ending the life of the occupant inside. As he storms into “The Office,” Nick unleashes a brutal display of violence, swiftly dispatching one gang member with his shotgun before pursuing another up the stairs. After wounding one foe from above with his .45 pistol, Nick finishes him off with a devastating blast from his shotgun.

Two more gang members appear on the scene, prompting Nick to retreat up the staircase. He wounds one from above with his .45 pistol and then delivers a fatal blow with his shotgun.

As Billy arrives at the scene, he’s met with a grisly discovery - nearly all of his gang lies lifeless, victims of a brutal gun battle orchestrated by Nick earlier on. The gruesome tableau is only a precursor to the chaos that unfolds upstairs, where Nick and another gang member engage in a frenzied exchange of shotgun blasts through the walls. The outcome is predictable: the other gang member meets a bloody demise, his body riddled with holes.

Nick’s entrance into what appears to be a former church sanctuary is a stark contrast to the carnage he left behind. The space, bathed in a macabre glow cast by the blood-red stained glass, takes on an eerie quality. Billy materializes, and their confrontation erupts into a hail of bullets, leaving both men wounded and exhausted.

Billy’s right-hand man, Bodie (Edi Gathegi), makes a final stand from behind, taking out Nick with a shot to the neck. The victor surveys the carnage, his chest heaving with exertion as Billy lies helpless beside him. In a moment of twisted camaraderie, Billy remarks, “You look like one of us. Look what I made you.” Nick remains unmoved, his gaze cold and calculating.

As dawn begins to break, Nick staggers out of the church, leaving behind the lifeless bodies of his former comrades. The Mustang, once a symbol of their lawlessness, now serves as a reminder of their collective downfall. Back at his home, Nick limps into the house, his leg wounded and his neck bandaged. He collapses onto the couch, exhausted, as a video plays on TV, showing his family celebrating a joyful occasion.

The detective’s arrival brings news that Nick’s son is making progress, and for a fleeting moment, Nick’s expression softens with relief. However, his gaze soon drifts back to the TV, where memories of happier times linger - Luke, Helen, Nick, and Brendan singing in harmony on the couch. As Nick’s eyes droop shut, his battered body slumps forward, the weight of his actions finally catching up to him.