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Review: Death Race – Mindless Violence on the Racetrack
Falsely convicted of murder, former racing champion Jensen Ames is sent to the notorious prison island, whose unscrupulous warden forces him to compete in the savage Death Race.
Many wonder why the studios insist on churning out so many remakes. The answer is simple: they own the rights. And despite the fact that remakes are always a bit risky – for only very few stand up to the quality of their predecessors to which they are invariably compared – they can, if properly marketed, capitalize on the success, fan-base and cult status of the original.
This is obviously what the production companies (Cruise/Wager, Impact Pictures and Relativity Media, among them), together with distributor Universal had in mind when they let director/screenwriter/producer Paul W.S. Anderson (RESIDENT EVIL, ALIEN vs. PREDATOR) eviscerate the already trashy DEATH RACE 2000.
Already cheap and mindless, Roger Corman’s 1975 work, featuring a very young Sylvester Stallone as one of the leads, at least had some wry political satire to commend it. But its one-man-band director – in best Rodriguez tradition – has seen fit to substitute this with more speed, more gore, lots of nauseating, un-steady-cam cinematography and hysterical editing, accompanied by abysmal dialogue.
In the not too distant future, when financial markets have collapsed (sound familiar?) and society as we know it has broken down, the chief source of entertainment for the suffering masses is the murderous “Death Race”, a sort of vehicular “Rollerball”, where prison inmates compete against each other in a 3-day life or death event. When long-hailed champion, the masked driver Frankenstein, is killed by an opponent, unscrupulous prison warden Hennessey (Joan Allen) fears that the race might lose its allure. Thus, it is most timely when former racing champion Jensen Ames (Jason Statham), is convicted of murdering his wife – wrongly, of course – and given into Hennessey’s custody. She makes it clear that if he wants to win his freedom, he will enter the race, don Frankenstein’s mask and keep the legend alive. But before long, the racing driver realizes that his life is threatened by more than just his opponents on the track.
Apart from its brainlessness, its brutality and gore make the movie hard to stomach were it not for the surprising quality of its ensemble cast. Jason Statham, (TRANSPORTER franchise, CRANK, and BANK JOB), demonstrates once again that he is one of the coolest contemporary action heroes on the screen. Oscar-winner Joan Allen, Tyrese Gibson (in the original Stallone role), and the brilliant Ian McShane elevate the film to something almost resembling entertainment; together they make the best of the absurd dialogue until it is almost tolerable.
Tyrese Gibson, Jason Statham, Ian McShane in DEATH RACE
Made for an undeclared budget, to date, DEATH RACE has grossed just under $66 million worldwide; over half of that in the US since its release there on October 10, 2008. It has only just come out is some major foreign territories, so box office numbers are still coming in.
Unless you’re into mindless action or a hardcore splatter fan, my advice is to save the price of a movie ticket and wait for the game to come out on Play Station. Then you can enjoy your own death race in the comfort of your own home.
DEATH RACE (US 2008); Genre: Action; Running time: 104 minutes; Rated R; Distributor: Universal Pictures International: US release date: August 22, 2008; German release date: November 27, 2008: Director/Writer: Paul W.S. Anderson (screenplay/screen-story), Writers: Robert Thom, Charles Griffith (1975 screenplay Death Race 2000), Ib Melchior (1975 story Death Race 2000); Main cast: Jason Statham, Ian McShane, Tyrese Gibson, Joan Allen; Cinematographer: Scott Kevan; Composer: Paul Haslinger: Production designer: Paul Denham Austerberry; Editor: Niven Howie
Poster/Photo (c) Universal Pictures International
