Death Race Movie
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Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
Ex-con Jensen Ames is forced by the warden of a notorious prison to compete in our post-industrial world's most popular sport: a car race in which inmates must brutalize and kill one another on the road to victory.
| Max Ryan | Slovo Pachenko/Angel Wings |
| Benz Antoine | Joe's Navigator #2 |
| Marcello Bezina | Jensen |
| John Canoe | Steel Worker |
| Jason Clarke | |
| Tyrese Gibson | Machine-Gun Joe |
| Frederick Koehler | Lists |
| Robert LaSardo | Grimm |
| Justin Mader | Travis Colt |
| Ian McShane | |
| Robin Shou | 14K |
| Jason Statham | |
| Jacob Vargas | Gunner |
| Joan Allen | |
| Melantha Blackthorne | Pachenko's Navigator |
| Paul W.S. Anderson |
6.80 out of 10 (11167 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Quite Boring....!
posted on 22 Aug 2009When i saw the poster i was expecting something else. I thought that this was an out and out sci-fi thriller ... it really disappointed me. The story goes around the hero (ames) where Jason Statham has given an OK performance .. the weak point of this film is that it is not gripper enough... it reminds me of Micheal Bay movie"the island" which is similar to this movie.... but the former was more racy with wonderful car chases... but this movie lacked lot of story especially and the special effects is also not very impressive.... When it comes to the music i find it very hard to digest... OK the overview is this that i will give this a 5/10 rating for its breathtaking sequences (only few). Lets come to the character artists .. well they did a great job and especially coach (ian) was fit for that character... conclusion: don't waste your time and money either watch the fast and furious from your DVD rack....!
Better then the original
posted on 22 Aug 2009This movie is basically a action-movie at its finest. It severally lacks depth and story but compensates that with its action. It surprised me (even for a Paul WS Anderson movie) how mindnumbing it is, but it never leaves you bored and thats why this movie is better then the original Death Race 2000 in my humble opinion. Although that isn't really saying that much since this movie really doesn't have much in common with Death Race 2000 other then the title.Jason Statham is perfectly casted as the actionhero. The movie also lends a few nice video game-like aspects but Paul WS Anderson knows how to handle such things, and really sets himself apart with this movie from directing-failures like Uwe Boll.Overall there isn't really much else to say. The ending is great so I'm not going to spoil it, just see it for yourself. If you are a action-fan you will not be disappointed. Don't expect too much storyline though.
'i love this game'....
posted on 20 Aug 2009In 2012, the United States economy collapses and life for everyone is not the same. Once a NASCAR champion, Jensen Ames, hits rock bottom and spent several years in prison. His life was improving and changing for the better after meeting and marrying Suzy and having a baby girl. Then the steel mill closes, and he loses his job. But that was not the worst thing to happen to Jenson that day. Suzy is brutally murdered, and he is framed for her murder. Jenson is sent to Terminal Island, the worst and toughest for-profit prison in the country run by Warden Hennessey. She has created the country's most popular pay-per-view sport, a kill-or-be-killed car race where the inmates race to win their freedom from prison after 5 wins. Every inmate driver is driving a monster car that they built which is loaded with machine guns, missiles, flamethrowers, napalm, and no rules. Warden Hennessey convinces Jensen to secretly take the place of the late 4-time superstar winner, Frankenstein, and wear his metallic mask in the race. If Jensen wins just one race, he can go home to his baby daughter...This could be Andersons best Hollywood film to date. best in the fact that he hasn't angered any video game fans (even though the film does resemble wipeout a touch) or ruined a once respected sci-fi franchise.some may argue that event horizon is his greatest picture, but for a totally guilty pleasure of a 'lad's' film, he has hit the nail right on the head.it's a dumb movie. the script is predictable as are the characters and the story.but anyone who knows the directors work, will know that if they are paying to see one of his films, they are not expecting an art-house movie of any sort.it's loud, brash in your face, and at times unintentionally hilarious, but somehow, the film works in so many ways. Statham plays his usual role, with that silly accent that should be left at home and is good, i think he has finally found his calling.the rest of the cast are full of people you may recognise from other crass action films, and of course 'lovejoy'it doesn't let up for the duration of the film and never takes itself seriously. the film knows it has b-movie roots and wears it proudly on it's sleeve.it's total dross at the end of the day, but it's fun dross, which entertains throughout, and in Hollywood these days, it's refreshing to find a film that just let's itself go and entertains the audience without taking itself seriously.if you know what to expect, go and see it you will be surprised. if you hate Anderson's work..you're not the only one, but will be cursing yourself for actually liking this.big stupid fun..
Pretty fun ride, with lots of action and somewhat interesting deception
posted on 18 Aug 2009I'll cut right to the point. Death Race, seems similar to the game twisted metal on Playstation. Yes the characters also use weapons, and cars that the every day consumer tends to drive. Nothing really ground breaking in what I've said so far. This movie doesn't attempt to have any crowd rising epiphanies or such a twisted plot that it doesn't seem to capture us. Although, some of the speeches made by Joan Allen's character are questionable considering she is addressing convicts. Nevertheless, the movie is designed to be a source of car action entertainment.It is similar to the movie Shoot Em Up with Clive Owen. Purely unrealistic entertainment and that my friends is the beauty of this movie. It's nice to be able to sit in a theater and have a few chuckles, watch some mind boggling car chases/crashes and have a sense of where the story is going.I went into the movie with little to no expectations of how "good" the movie would be but purely as a source of entertainment, and fascination of "car functioning." If you get a chance to go see it with a group of friends definitely do it! It's not a movie you want to watch alone.
disconnect your brain
posted on 18 Aug 2009I saw this movie couple of weeks ago in a sneak preview in Dusseldorf. Within a minute of the movie starting someone in our group said that we should disconnect our brain, and how true it was. No plot to speak of (wrongful imprisonment, a chance to get out, a car race, violence, death, escape, live happily ever after), so many improbabilities, so many things that did not make sense, far too much violence, and such a corny ending. Even the computer graphics in some places were pretty poor. As the credits rolled at the end I wondered if all those people (many French Canadians) would be happy to have their name associated with this piece of rubbish.
hot women and fast cars, death race is a man's movie
posted on 12 Aug 2009I just saw this film last night at a premier in Portland Oregon.Im not gonna give away any of the story because there isn't much of one which is fine in this case. Explolsions and murder and hot women plus Jason statham equals good movie. I went into this film expecting it to be disaster,and i say this only because I'm anonymous... it was good. Plenty of wow moments to cringe at and not just me but the whole audience. The driving does get a little repetitive but kudos to the director Paul w.s. Anderson for mixing it up. Plus it is a revenge story which everyone loves. BOTTOM LINE if you want to be entertained and don't mind a some violence see it it is worth the price of admission.
Frankenstein! Frankenstein! Frankenstein!!!
posted on 08 Aug 2009Roger Corman produced "Death Race", film based on the 1975 picture "Death Race 2000" also produced by Corman. This time the director was Paul W. S. Anderson and this time David Bill Kwai Chang Caine Carradine only provided his voice to the character Frankenstein. The 1975 "Death Race 2000" is still one of the films that are part of my "must wanted list", I thought this version was quite similar however my cousin said to me that it was not after. And was cousin the other one interested in this film and also in look for the DVD of the 1975 version and certainly last weekend I went with him and a couple of friends to watch "Death Race" on the big screen hoping to watch a damn fun thing.If you read some of the IMDb comments for this film and the "professional" reviews then you can read how predictable this is, how it is oriented to the male teenage audience so it has cars and sexy girls, how it is like a video game or how it is an assault on all the senses including common, that is you read Roger Ebert's review (Ebert gave this film half *, by the way), and if you watch the film you can know that the people who wrote that stuff are right. So why I gave to this film a full 9, well simply because I loved it so I think this is a "chance" to use the term "guilty pleasure".Anyway, Frankenstein is a character who dies just when the film begins, the mask is the character, itself can make excitement and money and it can be used by anyone. Everything is as simple as that the bitch that controls the prison just cares about her business and that the rest of the characters are part of that business. Nothing is a secret, nothing is a surprise and everything is fun. Jason Statham is Jensen Ames and is like the character he always plays so like always he will end just fine, in Mexico. The game is the issue, the result of people tired of watching people killing people and the overpopulation of criminals, now is people in cars killing people in cars with some special stuff. You will laugh since the game, the death race is an extremely successful PPV event and it offers to its audience many angles of the many cameras, repetitions and three different stages, obviously you have to pay for each stage. Was impossible to me not to have in mind the "Fast and Furious" movies since we saw the trailer of the upcoming one (Diesel is in it so I will not be watching it), also the trailers of "The Spirit" (not familiar with the comic book but I really want to watch it for certain reasons and for Scarlett) and of the new version of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" with Keanu Reeves, but there are at least two scenes that separates "Death Race" of that movies yet the final sequence and other things are "Fast and Furious" but anyway I really can't wait to watch "Death Race 2000".
The true film-adaptation of Carmageddon games !
posted on 06 Aug 2009Don't let the movie title fool you, this movie has nothing left from boring 1970ish "original", except for the name and prison-arena with drivers fighting to death with each other for their freedom ;) The spirit of it belongs to the Carmageddon and Twisted Metal series of video games. Smart concept, no-nonsense, full graphic violence and pleasant action sequences will give a good entertainment for all fans of the genre. Minimum plot, minimum story, just cars, guns, gore and FUN :P Clear 9/10.p.s.: P.W.Anderson did it again - after 13 years since The Mortal Kombat, we have another solid game-to-video flick ;) Kudos to him!
3 Stage Rubbish
posted on 06 Aug 2009Statham cant be far from landing a superhero roll, assuming he learns to open his mouth a little more when speaking, was this guy trained or just lucky when Guy Ritchie found him.... we even have him talking through a mask, gee could any of you understand it. The movie as a whole is a poor modern day Ben Hur without a story, disappointing as I guess they spent a few quid on the FX and car repairs.... My advice, miss it at the cinema and the rental shop too, otherwise Universal might just go wasting more money on Anderson, Director, Screenplay and writer is just a little too much for this man, "running before walking" comes to mind....stop reading so much trash Paul and thinking this'll make a good movie or maybe bin the XBOX it influences you way too much....
Was this the video game or the movie?
posted on 02 Aug 2009So Jason Statham is by now one of the biggest action stars in the world. He reminds me of a young Bruce Willis, although he's had his share of hits and misses. Death Race is what I would call a critical disaster, because it has nothing but action and carnage. This thing is thin on everything - plot, story, acting, characters, etc. But what else would you expect from a movie with a title like Death Race? It's fast, loud, vulgar, and violent, and as far as I'm concerned that's all that it promises. Works for me.It seems that in the distant future, the American economy is in shambles, inflation is through the roof, and things have gotten so bad with prison over-crowding that, now that they're run for profit by private corporations, they have resorted to allowing inmates to kill each other off in webcasted death races. And by "distant future," of course, I mean that the movie takes place in far-off 2012. If nothing else, Death Race certainly has little faith in whoever will turn out to be our next president.My problem with the movie is that it leaves you with the feeling that a better movie is taking place outside the prison. The movie is essentially an advertisement for the inevitable video game, so I'm willing to accept the ludicrous premise about giving our most hardcore future- criminals heavily armed, high-powered vehicles, but I'm more interested in seeing what's going on in America where the United States military has decided that the best use for their mounted machine guns, laser-guided, armor-piercing RPGs, rocket launchers, and nothing less than napalm, would be to put them in the hands of prison inmates so they can kill each other off for the purpose of online entertainment.But therein you have your message to America about the American economy and our place in the world. Our economy has crashed, so clearly we're no longer the world's #1 superpower. The races are sold to the public for a whopping $250 per race (which, given our economic situation, must be a mostly foreign audience), and since they regularly pull in tens of millions of viewers, evidently America has been reduced in the world to a source of violent entertainment.Then again, I'm probably reading far too deeply into the material than was intended. They do, after all, bus in teams of stunningly hot female co-pilots for no decipherable reason. I'm not sure which is a more dangerous thing to bring in to a prison, rocket launchers and napalm or hot women.But of course what really matters is the cars and the carnage and there's plenty of both. Many of the modifications make no sense, like the 6-inch steel armor plate on the back of Statham's Mustang, which must weigh double what the car weighs, but for full-throttle violence and mayhem you can hardly do better than this.But if there is one thing that I'll have a hard time forgiving the movie for, it's the way the weapons are activated. Joan Allen made a surprising career decision in taking a major role in this movie, which leaves her little to do except be a cold, heartless wench and call for manhole-sized buttons on the track to be turned on and off. Sort of like the little prizes and things that you have to run over on the track in order to get enhanced weapons.The similarity to old Nintendo games is a little too much for comfort. Also, remember how if you hit one of those little oil patches your car would go spinning wildly into the wall? That happens here, too.Ultimately the movie raises an interesting moral debate, whether or not it's worth it to give violent criminals a chance to win their freedom if they manage to bring some money into the ailing economy and kill off a few of their fellow hardened criminals in the process.The movie is basically The Fast and the Furious without all the shiny prettiness of it. The cars are not high-powered speed-racers, they are assault weapons with wheels and untold horsepower, and aesthetic appeal is unimportant compared to sheer power of destruction. I was a little disappointed to see that the movie didn't have the narrative drive of something like Crank or The Transporter, it's a watered down version of Statham's past movies.He's got a tremendous screen presence, showcased best in Snatch, I think, but all he's given to do here is look angry behind the wheel and periodically kick the crap out of some skinheads. You may rediscover that you enjoy seeing white supremacists get their asses kicked, and if you are interested in deadly car racing you may enjoy this one. But given that most half-baked action flicks of this variety tend to spawn endless sequels (4 Fast 4 Furious is on its way, for example), I just hope that Death Race 2: Full Throttle takes place on the mainland.
Pure fun. Great effects!
posted on 23 Jul 2009Don't go expecting a "Running Man" type commentary on prisons, the media or the public's thirst for blood. This movie was a straight up action movie with jaw-dropping REAL car effects. (If there was CGI, it was too damn good to rip me out of the picture). The cast was surprisingly good for what could've been a disaster movie. Every star in the pic seemed to not only get their character and get the movie, but they also were having fun with it. And when they're having fun, I'm having fun. Plot? In the VERY near future, prisons let inmates race to the death for their freedom. Statham is an ex-racer who is framed for a murder in order to be incarcerated and forced to take part in the Death Race.Also, if you want to relive the glorious Roger Corman films of your youth, forget it. No comedy here. (But Carradine makes a cameo!!)
Don't let him make movies
posted on 23 Jul 2009This movie had good potential, and like most of Paul W.S. Anderson's projects; the end result is utter garbage, however, Mortal Kombat is a childhood favorite of mine. Even though they do make money (which I guess at the end of the day is all that matters), I still despise this man for screwing up the Resident Evil series and turning it into a joke. The fact that there is some potential helps us believe this movie could actually end up being good, but it isn't. The mistake this movie made was letting Anderson be a part of it.So is there any good in this movie? Jason Statham is usually money, and even though he's not in his prime for this picture, he still sells what little there is to sell pretty decently. Joan Allen and Ian McShane, really make me wonder what they are doing in this picture, both are established actress and actor, and even though they do turn out good performances, I can't help but say my perception of them has definitely gone down a bit since they have starred in this film. The action also has it's moments, though is it really possible to make cars strapped with machine guns not exciting? The concept may be a good idea, but the delivery is atrocious. The script is clunky, the plot has more holes in it than a piece of swiss cheese, and while on the topic of cheese, this movie is that cheesy. Natalie Martinez, co-stars as Statham's navigator while on the race, yes she is hot and that is the point of her. Where the problem is, no amount of hotness can make up for her god awful acting ability, it's utter crap. I hope to never see her in a movie again, or at least not in a role with actual talking. Tyrese still plays the same crappy roles he always does, but thats OK since he's a rubbish actor.Pros: Has potential, never delivers though. Statham has proved a solid leading man in these kind of movies, no matter how bad the flick. Allen and McShane = good acting no matter what. Nice to see Robin Shou again. It's got cars with guns.Cons: Everything else that wasn't mentioned in the Pros section should be taken as a con. Paul W.S Anderson, don't let him make movies... again.Overall: Boys who like toys will go. This Movie made for immature high school boys who are fascinated by violence, but seeing how the movie is rated 18A they may have a tough time getting into the theatre. For the rest of the world with half a brain, please skip it.
Overly exceeded my expectations!! Great movie!!!
posted on 23 Jul 2009No, it's not a dramatic masterpiece, but it is a hard driving thrill ride and the most enjoyed movie I've seen at a theatre in months, maybe over a year. While the plot is a bit "out there", once the movie gets going it sucks you in and you mostly forget about that. Plus, the ending was great and the visuals were right up in your face which was great and really exciting to watch.It was not the type of movie I would usually go see but I went because it was adapted by P.T. Anderson (still think he was robbed) and because I always enjoy seeing J. Statham beat up on people-heh. I really had a blast throughout except for the rap music I had to endure on occasion (personal pet peeve). I gave it a 10 because of the enjoyment factor. Very, very well done.Now if I could just get the movie theatre to stop playing crappy pop music while I wait for the previews. :-/
Death Race is a guilty pleasure that doesn't let down in the entertainment department.
posted on 21 Jul 2009Based upon an exploitation movie from B-Movie King Roger Corman in the seventies, which was in turn based upon all sorts of other exploitation flicks of the time, Death Race is all exploitation, and for what it's worth, it's actually quite fun. The skeleton of such a movie is simple: guns, cars, scantily clad women, explosions, blood and lots of cursing; such is the exploitation movie's philosophy, and much like Death Race's main premise, it was all about the ratings, or, bringing in the money. There's no denying that sex and sleaze sells, but the question nevertheless still does remain: can sex and sleaze, that is, a movie based around not much other than pure testosterone-fuelled violence and a hammy, science-fiction plot actually be culturally viable as a means to genuine, fulfilling entertainment? Well, the answer, is probably no, it cannot, in most cases. Yet with Death Race, Paul Anderson manages to make it clear that all he wants to do here is thrill, and when the foot is down, the engines are revving and the guns are blazing, it all comes together quite nicely, in an ironic kind of way. To be sure, the perfunctory drama and characterisation present is slim and without much value at all, yet for a high-octane, no-brainer piece of morally twisted cinema, there's some fun to be had here for those who crave such a thing.Following wrongly-accused convict and ex-racer Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) as he attempts to win his freedom by winning the Death Race (A competition set up to help the American Economy pull in money, keep the masses entertained and get rid of dangerous criminals), the basic story here is not without some imagination. Although a little hard to grasp and accept, the way in which the script deals with the required exposition is balanced enough in that both facts and fiction are kept at a safe enough distance to maintain the illusion; there isn't any elaborate discussion on how or why America has ended up in this state, but there is at least enough to satisfy the setup for the main meat of the story. Following from here, Death Race attempts to sell a story of justice, revenge and betrayal, which for the most part, succeeds in getting across its message. Ames, obviously out of place, but not unfamiliar to the concept of a cell, struggles to keep a hold of himself when confronted by the local bullies. Sure enough, it's not a new idea, and neither Statham or his character seem to care much about the rough treatment, and as such, it's hard to truly feel for Ames, which can hurt the film's biggest payoff moments on the tracks.As emotionally stunted as Death Race may be however, there is no denying the callous, raw edge that Anderson creates here to portray his races. Shot in dark, blue huess that accentuate every piece of dirt that flies by the camera, this isn't Speed Racer by any means; this is dirty, low-brow, high risk racing fuelled by fire and brimstone rather than LSD and candy. Explosions, gruesome deaths and some great stunt manoeuvres mixed with hard hitting pyrotechnics are abundant here and while it's easy to get lost in all that is going on in the movie's fastest sequences, Anderson does well to always reaffirm what is taking place. It's pure adrenaline and seedy entertainment at best, and yet that is what is so refreshing about it all.Performances from the cast are largely forgettable, but adequate for the job. Statham in the lead role is typical Statham; always looking like he's going to punch someone and talking like he's just swallowed a jar of razor blades, you couldn't ask for a more suited Jensen Ames. Joan Allen makes a much more surprising and interesting appearance here as villainous temptress, and mastermind of the Death Race itself, Hennessey. Of course, it's never a role that's going to demand much of even the most mediocre of actresses, but Allen does well to make it her own here and fleshes out a rather underwritten antagonist as best as she can. Ian McShane among others make up the remainder of a talented but underused cast, and this fact is only made too obvious from the fact that McShane in two hours, fails to bring to the screen anything remotely close to what made him so ingloriously interesting to watch on the similarly seedy Deadwood TV series in which he starred.So while Death Race is not without its problems by any means, at least in terms of Paul W.S. Anderson films, this is a step in the right direction. The dialogue is satisfactory at best, and characterisation along with plotting always feels like its playing backing to the film's main focus of action and ladies, but strangely enough, that doesn't feel like a problem here. With a title such as Death Race, one must know what one is going into, and as such, Anderson delivers frequently and with the relentless sense of conviction that is required to sell such a movie today. With a capable cast that do their best with the material they are given, plenty of great race scenes, and a silly but nevertheless well paced story, Death Race is a guilty pleasure that doesn't let down in the entertainment department and knows what its good at to the point where it sticks mainly to that which works. No pretence here, just no brains, eyeball popcorn with no incentive to eat other than that it's tasty. So chow down.- A review by Jamie Robert Ward (http://www.invocus.net)
Like Nascar But With Worse Dialogue
posted on 21 Jul 2009Only Paul W.S. Anderson could mess up something like this. He's done it before. We gave him Aliens and Predators and said, "All you have to do is make them kill one another." But he must have been deaf, or spaced out, or maybe he's just thick. The public repeated their previous mistake and said, "Hey, Paul! Please remake this film. Just make cars and people explode. That's all we ask." Which, he does deliver, but, since that's all the audience is looking for I can say to them, just watch Death Race 2000. It's the same idea but better and more violent.Which, I don't understand! How can something in the 1970's be more violent than something now? What about all those Saw films and the recent Torture Porn genre? Are those, just, like, exceptions? Come one dude! You had ONE JOB! ONE! And you messed that up.
Fun, Fun, FUN!
posted on 19 Jul 2009Now here's an exploitation film that knows what a solid B-movie is supposed to be: an action-dense, amped-up, gore-soaked killfest. It's the cinematic equivalent of eating that entire box of Red Vines you bought at the snack bar, using them as candy straws to suck down your extra-large Coke.As a fan of the original "Death Race 2000," I was pleased to see just enough of a shadow of the original movie inhabiting the skin of the new one. Roger Corman's name on the producing credits gave me hope at the start, and his seal of approval seemed to mean something, perhaps as counterweight to Paul W. S. Anderson's track record of shooting mediocre video game adaptations. Surprisingly, Anderson rises to the occasion, effortlessly elevating a cliché-rich but fast-moving script to the level of a satisfyingly adrenalin-fueled confection aimed like a bullet at the A.D.D.-addled brains of the short-attention-span generation.Set in an "Escape From New York"-style dystopic prison-culture (that sounds suspiciously like current American society), slaughter happens, stuff blows up, and the weak are culled like bunnies caught in the headlights of gas-sucking American muscle cars. Fans of the "Twisted Metal" video game will love the newest wrinkle in the race, the addition of weaponry – a needed bloody bump for version 2.0. And what a bump it is, with each car's chugging machine guns indiscriminately spewing hot rounds at every foe, shredding Detroit steel like it was used Kleenex. It's unabashed gun fetishism at its gleeful best, and it makes you want to strap an M60 to the hood of your Prius in order to cut your commute in half.Jason Statham does his standard tough-guy job as the scowling Frankenstein, Joan Allen plays a ball-busting warden (perhaps a bit in the mold of Louise Fletcher's Nurse Ratched), and Ian McShane of "Deadwood" has a solid cameo as the prison-wise mechanic, Coach. Even Machine Gun Joe gets a new incarnation in the form of Tyrese Gibson, who thankfully is nothing like Stallone's blustering Italian meatball.I loved it, and can't wait to see it again in a theater with enough bass to pump up those impact crunches to the bone-jarring level they deserve.Yeah!
What's wrong with you people?!
posted on 17 Jul 2009I swear that if a movie comes out that doesn't have a comic-book, novel, video game background or isn't a sequel or prequel to another movie, the public just hates for some reason. Apparently, it's not Hollywood that has lost its sense of originality, it's the fact that original movies end up getting put down by the audience. "Death Race" is one of those movies. Though it's loosely based on the bloody, gritty "Death Race 2000" released back in the day, it has nearly no connection what-so-ever. D.R.2000 dealt with maniacs in cars killing pedestrians and earning points, Death Race deals with maniacs in cars killing each other, and boy, I haven't seen car chases and combat this intense since the severely-underrated "Speed Racer" movie.The movie begins with a very epic battle between two Death Race rivals: Frankenstein and Machine Gun Joe. Well, Frank doesn't last long. The movie then cuts away to the main character Jensen, a working man who has a troubled car-racing past. He's trying to live his life $300 a month to support his wife and baby daughter, until a masked man kills his wife and leaves Jensen with the knife. The police assume it's Jensen who killed her and drags him away to Terminal Prison. It is here that Jensen is forced to take up the role of Frankenstein to appease the fans of the Death Race, a "$99-per-stage or $250-for-whole-season" show in which racers kill each other with a very well scripted "Swords, shields, and death heads" segments that allows the drivers to use their offensive or defensive weapons or activate traps.Honestly, people seem to hate Jason Statham movies just because he starred in "In the Name of the King" by Uwe Boll, and look over his Transporter movies and Crank, in which the movies were very action-filled and were excellent popcorn movies. Jason Statham now perfects his gritty role-playing and is very believable. The toils between Jason and Tyrese Gibson's character Machine Gun Joe really reveal the rivalry Joe feels towards Frankenstein (not knowing Jensen has taken up the role in the old Frank's place) and help motivate the story forward. You also have Ian McShane's character, Coach, who spurts out clever lines and pulls off one of the movie's most audience-satisfying surprises.But it's all about the car battles, the Death Race. There's 3 stages and whoever comes out on top in 5 races earns their freedom, but the cruel prison warden Joan Allen's character Hennessey sees only one thing in the drivers: Money, and she'll stop at nothing to make sure that's exactly what she gets. Joan does an amazing job. I mean, you forget early in the movie that she's just an actress, just like Jason Statham and Tyrese Gibson. The first lap is weapon-less, where drivers have to worry about shortcuts and ramming dents into their enemies' armor.Lap 2 is where hell is let loose, where the sword, shield, and death head buttons are activated and the plot uses these buttons to win the movie some of its best moments. Remember the scene in The Dark Knight where Batman caused a whole pick-up truck to flip over? Well, you'll definitely remember the scene in Death Race where a missile-launching machine-gun-heavy 50-caliber-pumping truck gets slammed into a series of spikes and flips through the air to end in a very satisfying explosion. The audience in my theater were cheering.A well-written script, beautiful acting, heart-pounding races, and no-holds-barred combat really make Death Race stand out. It's one of those movies that the public doesn't like for some stupid reason and is under-appreciated in nearly every aspect. For me, I don't care that I missed the matinée price. This movie was well worth $7.50 and is definitely worth a purchase in the future. For all the naysayers out there, stop putting this movie alongside "Name of the King" and "Transporter" because it is very well Jason Statham's best movie ever.
Like watching a really long video game replay
posted on 17 Jul 2009Out of the three "so bad its..." movies I've watched this summer (Babylon A.D., Punisher: War Zone, and Death Race), this is by far the worst, and possibly the only one with no redeeming quality. This was just a poorly written, poorly directed, redundant waste of celluloid. Sure there are explosions and fast cars, but you keep seeing the same thing over and over again; there is no variety in location or even shots. It seems sometimes like you're watching the same six or so shots over and over again; start with a close up of a scowling driver, move to the outside of the car, zoom in on smug warden through a glass window, finish with a clockwise pan around the warden. Repeat ad nauseum, occasionally inserting explosion, and/or hot chick. At least Babylon, as truly awful as that was, made for an entertaining game of spotting what scenes were aped from other, far better, sci-fi movies. Death Race actually plagiarizes itself. Just wait for the unrated version Punisher to come out on DVD and watch that if you're starved for new stupid violence, at least that is as entertaining as the average Steven Segal or TROMA movie. Actually, I guess this does have one slight redeeming quality; Natalie Martinez is very, very hot in this, but the five or so minutes of the movie where she and the other implausibly attractive female inmates walk around in slow motion is hardly worth watching over an hour and a half of this crap for.
Jason Statham delivers the carnage once again in this 70s movie remake.
posted on 07 Jul 2009Framed for murder, his one shot of freedom is to enter the infamous Death Race, where convicts drive cars tricked out with guns, rockets, spikes and napalm to race for gory glory.Sure it sounds a bit stupid but it's entertaining to say the least. It's more influenced by video games like Burnout and Wipeout than the old movie, especially with the weapon activating pads on the track.To be honest the 'one-track only' location on the oil-rig-like prison isn't as exciting as civilian locations would have been (like the original). The track itself is a long, tall 0 which reeks of a lack of imagination. Especially after watching Speed Racer.Fans of the Statham machine can also look forward to Crank 2 and Transporter 3.
Expect little, get even less.
posted on 30 Aug 2009Going into this movie, for reasons I cannot explain, I didn't expect to really see anything that resembles the usual quality films I try to only watch. I have seen Jason Statham in The Italian Job and The Bank Job and liked both of those. I think he needs to stick to caper films rather than over-the top action movies that may have a sleek look to them, but have ultimately no plot and no reason to see them. Statham plays a former hardcore car racer who is trying to live straight, but ends up in a huge jail after being framed for his wife's murder. He is then drawn into the Death Race, an Internet phenomenon showcasing wild prisoners drive even more wild cars in a race that features the winner killing off the others.To be frank, this movie offers no new insight to its genre, the performances are lackluster, especially by Joan Allen as the tough-as nails warden, and Tyrese Gibson as the supposedly gay inmate that is Statham's rival. Nothing here works very well and the ending is predictable and lame. Save your money and go see a well-made funny movie like Tropic Thunder that may not be one of the best of the year but is a heck of a lot better than this.