Movie Review: Jason Statham in Death Race
Paul W.S. Anderson directs the 2008 remake of 1975's Death Race 2000
Aug 28, 2008
~Plot: Jason Statham is framed for murder as NASCAR driver Jensen Ames
The year is 2012 and something has clearly changed in the moral values of America. No longer is the debate over the appropriateness of the death penalty. Much to the contrary, the deaths of the country’s worst criminals becomes a celebrated commodity. Under the careful plotting of Warden Hennessey (Joan Allen), the Terminal Island Prison system has developed a way to harness that commodity to raise funds for the institution.
Fans from around the world tune in each week through a pay-per-view system in order to witness hardened criminals race for their lives—or die trying. Inmates are given heavily armored vehicles of destruction and thrust into an enclosed area to compete in a kill-or-be-killed automotive battle.
The catch is simple: if any driver can win five races without getting killed, he will immediately win his freedom. The Warden oversees the proceedings and tosses out twists and turns to constantly raise the ratings. Soon, however, the fan favorite and huge revenue generating four time winner—a masked man known only as Frankenstein—is killed during one of the races. Hennessey realizes that she must think of a way to keep her viewers from learning about their fallen hero.
The story then switches focus as former NASCAR driver, Jensen Ames (Statham), is framed for the sudden murder of his wife and transferred to Terminal Island. Hennessey quickly makes him an offer: ride under the Frankenstein mask and win just one race and he’ll gain his freedom. What he doesn’t know, however, is that she has no intention of ever letting him go.
For much of the remaining movie, the plot follows the racers through several high-impact scenes as flamethrowers, bazookas, machine guns, and even a massive sixteen wheeler of doom as one by one the contestants meet a bloody or often fiery death. When only Ames (as Frankenstein) and a ruthless sociopath named Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson) remain, they find a way to outsmart the system and escape the Warden’s sick game.
Known for his talents in high-impact big screen flicks such as the Transporter series and Crank, Statham shines in this futuristic film about the depths to which reality TV has fallen. Ian McShane also steals the show as the aging, yet hugely experienced, pit manager for Frankenstein’s crew.
~Review: Viewers seem to disagree with criticism of Death Race
At around only an hour and forty minutes in length, Death Race packs a lot of action in a smaller-than-normal amount of time. Just don’t go looking for any romantic sub-plots in this one. In fact, the movie has recently met with several low reviews for being fairly one dimensional. Many critics devalue the film as nothing more than random car explosions with a lack of plot or acting.
When the storyline claims that the economy has collapsed, yet millions of people still find a way to pay truckloads of money to watch prisoners kill each other, there’s something left to be desired from the story writers.
Yet despite its many flaws, the popular opinion on the street seems to profoundly echo the opposite sentiment. The plot lines remain in tact throughout, as viewers are constantly reminded of Ames’ overwhelming desire to avenge his wife’s killer while simultaneously finding a way to freedom and back to his infant daughter.
It just so happens that in the meantime, the movie manages to bombard the senses with a huge array of visual special effects and stunts that will no doubt please even the most macho of men. What it lacks in character development, it more than makes up for in entertainment.
Let the so-called “professionals” have their say. But when an entire crowded theater rises to their feet to applaud the ending of a film, chances are it was at least somewhat enjoyable.
Internet Movie Database: Death Race
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