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Death Race
Directed by: Paul W. S. Anderson Starring: Jason Statham, Ian McShane, Joan Allen, Tyrese Gibson Synopsis: In a run-down future, Violent pay-per-view sports events rule the airwaves, providing the populace with escapism from their depressed existence. Of these, the Death Race, in which inmates from Terminal Island penal facility try to kill each other on a race track around the prison grounds, is the most popular. Unfortunately the star driver, Frankenstein, was killed in the previous race, although this has been kept from the public. Warden Henessy (Allen) gives new inmate Jensen Ames (Statham) the chance to win his freedom by impersonating Frankenstein in the next race... Review: The movie upon which this is based, Roger Corman’s cult classic “Death Race 2000”, starred David Carradine as Frankenstein, and Sylvester Stallone as Machine Gun Joe (here played by Tyrese Gibson). In it, the contestants were involved in a multi-stage cross-country race where they could pick up extra points by running over pedestrians and killing other drivers. It was a brilliant concept that allowed for some very, very dark humour (one scene has some hospital staff line up some patients outside the hospital to give their favourite driver some extra points):
Why is this movie set in a prison? Because it is more palatable to watch criminals be destroyed than innocent bystanders. Because convicts aren’t role-models to kids. The difference between someone aspiring to be a Death Race driver and a convict being enticed to race for his freedom. Just to make sure though, the movie ends with the following message: “The motor vehicle action sequences depicted in this film are dangerous. All stunts were performed in controlled environments with professionally trained stunt crews on closed roads. No attempts should be made to duplicate any action, driving or car play scenes herein portrayed.” 
Yes, this movie is covering all angles. It’s being marketed at the sort of people who need to be reminded it’s just a frikkin movie. As WWE keeps reminding us each week, “Please, don’t try this.” Funnily enough the Fast and Furious movies do a much better job of making car crime and “car play” (whatever that actually means) look sexy and accessible to youngsters but at least those movies respect their audience’s intelligence. 
One of the funny things in Death Race is that it doesn’t even get it’s economics right. At the beginning of the movie we see Jensen Ames and his colleagues working in a Steel Mill, which is being closed down. Their final pay-check amounts to just $300. Everyone is having to scrimp and save, the opening prologue mentions the US Economy collapsing. There's wholescale unemployment throughout the country. And yet, the Death Race costs $99 dollars per stage (special rate of $250 if you order all three stages!), and one of the warden’s lackeys (who thinks wearing eyeliner in a maximum security prison is a good idea) mentions they’ve got 50million viewers for the latest race. Now this raises two problems – if the economy has collapsed, who are these 50million people who can afford $99 for a single pay-per-view event? And second, where is all the money these races are generating? If you consider everyone going for the special offer of $250, multiplied by 50million... Okay, so the film then is basically a rehash of “The Longest Yard”, without the dubious laughs, and in place of Adam Sandler and Chris Rock you have Jason Statham and Ian McShane. Joan Allen plays the Ice Queen warden, whom one character refers to as “the baddest ass in here”. Statham and McShane know exactly the type of movie they’re in and deliver the goods.
Overall its not a bad movie; it is pretty entertaining, with the races providing the high points. Its certainly not a “good” movie either, and with better talent behind the camera, who could truly address the original material, it might have been something special. Instead it feels like movie-making-by-committee with no one having any faith in the material. It’s a shame no-one offered this to Neil Marshall. Verdict: It’s the sort of movie that the Simpsons parodies so well. Wait for Ian McShane’s mugging of the camera and you’ll see what I mean. A minor blip on Statham’s resume, and another nail in the coffin of Anderson’s directing career. 4 Out of 10 (MikeOutWest)
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