I think this article really misses the boat in discussing Hollywood vigilante films. In fact, there are two schools of vigilante films and this review mixes both together.

In one school, the hero is pitted against a society held hostage to rampaging street crime. This includes films like Death Wish, the Dirty Harry movies, and also both of the new films.

But films like these should not be confused with the other school--the hero pitted against a society that is itself corrupt and unfair. School 1 could be called "Good Guy vs. The Scumbag Criminals". School 2 could be called "Good Guy vs. The Man."

The Good-Guy-vs-The-Man school includes films like Billy Jack, Walking Tall, and First Blood. There's a very real difference in these two kind of films and the fact that Lichtenfeld demonstrates no thinking on this difference is disappointing. In a nutshell, one school demonstrates conservative dissatisfaction with liberalism and the other demonstrates liberal dissatisfaction with conservatism.