TORONTO—You’ve heard the story before. An older man, unhappy with the lawlessness he sees around him, decides to take matters into his own hands. Charles Bronson was in his 60s when he reprised his Death Wish character in the 1981 sequel Death Wish II. Seeking revenge for the death of his wife and child, the man goes on a killing spree in a tough L.A. neighbourhood. In 2008’s Gran Torino, septuagenarian Clint Eastwood played a Vietnam veteran who goes after the men who are terrorizing him and his neighbours. Now Michael Caine, who’s in his late 70s, is playing a character intent on doing his bit to clean up the streets of London in Harry Brown.

In Toronto to promote the film, which opens in Vancouver on Friday (May 21), Caine said that while he sees similarities between his film and Eastwood’s, he doesn’t believe that Harry Brown has a death wish.

“I never thought of this as being like that film [Death Wish], because Charlie’s character was a predator,” he explained at a Toronto hotel. “He went out and found people he didn’t like. This guy is not like that, because he is in a situation that is intolerable and he is trying to survive. His best friend dies and he is angry, certainly, but it is more about dealing with the world he is living in than revenge. I think Clint’s character is closer to this in that he is an old soldier like Harry, but it ends there. That is a film about someone who learns from his experience and grows as a person. It is hopeful, but this film really doesn’t offer a lot of hope. I think it is more of a warning.”

The warning comes with the film’s theme that London is a dying city plagued by drug-dealing street gangs. Brown lives in a veterans’ home in an area that is being terrorized by local thugs. Eventually, one of the seniors is killed and Brown falls back on his military training to exact vengeance. Caine said he agrees with the movie’s sentiments about modern England and that he felt some empathy with the character.

“This is happening in my country right now. You have people who are dealing drugs, who are terrorizing other people and who are making life difficult for everyone else, and no one can seem to do anything about it.”

Caine could also relate to the character’s military experience. Prior to his acting career, he served with the British army in Korea. He says that although his character’s experiences would have been different, given that he served in Ireland, those who served in the military have a common bond.

“I was in the Korean War and he was in Ireland, but that is where they send you; it isn’t who you are. You don’t decide these things. I can’t imagine there are a lot of British or American soldiers standing around going, ”˜I want to go to Afghanistan.’ That is where they are sent, and so they go there.”

Although he was paid to play an older man who dislikes the younger people he meets, Caine said he is happiest working with young actors and directors. And he will do whatever it takes to make his colleagues feel comfortable.

“I like working with young people, and I like working with first-time directors like [Harry Brown’s] Daniel Barber. There is something about the freshness. The young actors that were on this film were excited and prepared—sometimes too excited, but it’s so great working with young people. I was taught the Stanislavsky method, which is that rehearsals are the work and the acting is just a result of that, and that’s not really a big thing now. But I do believe in working as a team. If someone flubbed a line, I would flub mine. I think that is appropriate.”