Plot: In the near future the prison system has become so overcrowded that private contractors have been called in to take over complete control. They begin broadcasting gladiator style fights over the Internet for a fee. When the fights are no longer enough they invent Death Race where cars armed to the teeth race for freedom in a kill or be killed atmosphere. Jensen Ames is framed for his wife's murder and is sent to terminal island. Now he must race for his freedom.
The Ups: Now, I may be a bit bias because I'm both a Jason Statham fan, and a huge action junkie but I gotta say that the action sequences in this flick were as good as anything I've seen since Gone in 60 Seconds. They are able to incorporate a key element of any racing video game in a very believable way which I liked a lot. Whenever we would get to the actual race scenes they would be intro'd as if you were watching the pay per view which, surprisingly enough, didn't come of as cheesy the way it has in some other movies that tried the same thing. All of the kills in the film were done wonderfully most of them you don't even see coming and there are quite a few “HOLY SH%T!!!” moments throughout. Lastly the soundtrack was surprisingly good, or I should say the main theme, it was really funky and worked well with the environment they were giving you.
The Downs: The screenwriters for this one really didn't work very hard when dreaming up the background characters. They basically took the script and said “OK generic prison guy #1 here, insert prison cliché, make 'don't drop the soap' joke, generic prison guy#2 here and......scene”. The other thing about the cast that really bothered me, and is a staple in a lot of prison movies is the chubby, nerdy, wouldn't hurt a fly friend of the main character. How does this guy get sent to the hardest prison in the country?? Did he murder 30 people and rape an aardvark? Fine, just tell us in a throwaway line so my mind can be at ease. I mean, damn....anyway. My other big gripe about this movie is an open letter to Hollywood: STOP USING THE SHAKY CAMERA....I GET IT, THERES ALOT GOING ON ITS ACTION PACKED. I'm sorry but this is the stupidest thing, they spend millions on stunts and FX only to have them not seen because you can't tell what the hell is going on. This flick even added a new twist and did a zoom in/zoom out type thing, it's just really annoying and takes away from the action thats going on.
The Final Word: Come on folks, Casablanca it's not .Theres a lot of crudeness and the acting isn't gonna win anyone any awards. That being said this was a really fun action packed late summer popcorn flick. One that I would definitely recommend to fans of the action genre, but if your more of a How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days type, maybe wait for the rental. For those who do go see it in theaters, watch for the Dreadnought, if you liked the tractor-trailer scene in The Dark Knight you're gonna love this!
7.5/10
