Messenger of Death (1988)    Cannon/Action-Thriller    RT: 91 minutes    Rated R (language, violence)    Director: J. Lee Thompson    Screenplay: Paul Jarrico    Music: Robert O. Ragland    Cinematography: Gideon Porath    Release date: September 16, 1988 (US)    Cast: Charles Bronson, Trish Van Devere, Laurence Luckinbill, Daniel Benzali, Marilyn Hassett, Charles Dierkop, Jeff Corey, John Ireland, Penny Peyser, Gene Davis, John Solari, Jon Cedar, Tom Everett.    Box Office: $3M (US)

Rating: ***

 Don’t be misled by the title. The Charles Bronson starrer Messenger of Death is NOT another vigilante movie. This time around, he doesn’t play an angry cop or POed citizen with a gun. Instead, he plays an investigative journalist who finds himself in the middle of a blood feud between two fundamentalist Mormon brothers. It’s definitely a change of pace for the actor who made a steady stream of action flicks throughout the 80s, several of them with Cannon and director J. Lee Thompson (10 to Midnight, Murphy’s Law).

 After writing an article about the massacre of Orville Beecham’s (Dierkop, The Sting) family, Denver newspaper reporter Garret “Gar” Smith (Bronson) learns it may have been the result of the aforementioned blood feud. He finds out from Orville, who’s sitting in jail “for his own protection”, his father may have been behind the massacre that claimed the lives of his three wives and five children (that’s right, they practice polygamy!).

 Willis Beecham (Corey, Conan the Destroyer), a fundamentalist Mormon preacher who lives in a private compound with his followers, denies any involvement with the murders and claims that his brother Zenas (Ireland, The Incubus) orchestrated the whole thing. Smith tracks down Zenas at his farm in a remote area of the state and confronts him with Willis’ accusations. Of course, the brother also denies being involved and blames Willis. They’ve been estranged for years over a doctrinal dispute and now it looks as though their hatred has finally reached its boiling point.

The killers left behind a drawing of the avenging angel symbol that represents the family’s religion. Part of their doctrine involves the idea of blood atonement. It looks like that’s the reason behind the massacre. However, Smith’s investigation leads him to suspect that there may have been other motives behind the bloody incident. Judging by the attempts on his life, the reporter must be onto something big. Thanks to good friend Police Chief Barney Doyle (Benzali, Murder at 1600), Smith has access to several prominent citizens who might be able to provide a few answers. Among them, wealthy businessman Homer Foxx (Luckinbill, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) and socialite Trudy Pike (Peyser, Knots Landing).

 I don’t want to say any more about the plot and run the risk of dropping any major spoilers. I want you to have a reason to watch Messenger of Death. In my not-at-all-humble opinion, it’s one of Bronson’s most underappreciated movies. I guess his fans don’t like that it’s not another variation on Death Wish, but who says he has to keep making the same movie over and over again? I have to give Thompson credit for trying something a little bit different with this movie. Notice I said “a little bit”. He still gives Bronson a few opportunities to show off his action skills. He beats the living hell out of a bad guy, does battle with a huge truck that tries to run him off the road and finds himself in the middle of a big shoot-out which explains the pic of him holding a shotgun on the movie’s poster. Not too bad for a 66YO action star, no?

Perhaps there’s some bias on my part in my appreciation for Messenger of Death. There are three things about the movie I really like: 1) Charles Bronson, 2) J. Lee Thompson and 3) the Cannon logo. As you know, I’m a huge fan of almost anything from Cannon and producers Yoram Globus and Menahem Golan.

 Thanks to my father’s influence, I’m also a big Bronson fan. For some reason, I really like most of the movies he made for Thompson in the 80s (especially 10 to Midnight). Naturally, we saw a Saturday afternoon matinee showing of Messenger of Death on opening weekend. The movie has a pretty decent cast that includes Trish Van Devere (Hollywood Vice Squad) as a female newspaper editor who helps Smith with his story and Gene Davis (the killer in 10 to Midnight) as somebody who might have valuable information regarding the killings. The whole Mormon angle is quite interesting, that is one scary religion. Corey is especially frightening as the more devout of the two brothers.

 Based on the Rex Burns novel “The Avenging Angel”, Paul Jarrico’s screenplay is nice and tight. Robert O. Ragland’s score really enhances the tone of the story. Overall, it’s an entertaining action-thriller with a solid performance from Bronson. It may not be the first title that comes to mind when talking about the actor, but it’s certainly one that doesn’t deserve to be neglected either.