Rama’s SCREEN

Dude! This movie is hardcore pure action and injected with high dose of testosterone! Fast cars, kill or be killed, hot women, explosives, o and did I mentione hot-ass women?! Who needs a plot when you can have this much fun! DEATH RACE is a man’s movie, from… the start of the engine all the way to the end. This isn’t Gone in 60 Seconds, this movie would keep you up and entertained like none other car race movie has ever done before. Packed with thousands of rounds of ammo and also RPGs and punches and tricks around every corner that would make you go ‘wow, that was cool!’

Three-time speedway champion Jensen Ames (Statham) is an expert at survival in the harsh landscape that has become our country. Just as he thinks he has turned his life around, the ex-con is framed for a gruesome murder he didn’t commit. Forced to don the mask of the mythical driver Frankenstein — a crowd favorite who seems impossible to kill — Ames is given an easy choice by Terminal Island’s warden (Joan Allen): suit up or rot away in a cell. His face hidden by a metallic mask, one convict will be put through an insane three-day challenge. Ames must survive a gauntlet of the most vicious criminals in the country’s toughest prison to claim the prize of freedom. Driving a monster car outfitted with machine guns, flamethrowers and grenade launchers, one desperate man will destroy anything in his path to win the most twisted spectator sport on Earth

Do you remember the times before Jason Statham became a household name for action movies? I know there were the three amigos: Arnold, Sly, and Bruce,.. but Jason Statham is the answer to our generation.  The dude got the image and the badass presence that can carry the intensity and speed of a movie of this magnitude.
DEATH RACE is a remake, but not quite exactly.. because this version is a stand alone… it’s got its own world to cover and it doesn’t copy much from the original. That, my friends, is a damn good thing!

I really thought this movie was not going to be worth my time because of the fact that it’s written by Paul W.S. Anderson, the dude who made the lame Resident Evil trilogy movies. But who would’ve thought that even the  lamest director can craft such a brutal and exciting action movie as DEATH RACE?! So there are second chances.
The story even got some joke here and there, more along the line of smart remarks but funny nonetheless. Gotta give props to the director who often gets mistaken for Wes Anderson and Paul Thomas Anderson.

I like how the race is set like a game where the puppetmaster can decide when each player could start firing bullets or get shield. It’s like a live environment of video game where the course is rigged with options to win and kill your opponent.
I also find the concept very interesting.. what if corporations run prisons for profit?! Ya know how much ratings and money this kind of reality show could bring to a businessman?! We’re talkin’ mad money here, via pay perview.

Great casting choices too, by the way. Joan Allen in this movie is not the Joan Allen from The Notebook… this is the b*tchy “don’t F*ck with me” Joan Allen. For an old woman, with that attitude, she’s kinda hot!
I’ve always been a big fan of Ian McShane since his awesome role in TV’s Deadwood so it’s good to see him on the big screen again lookin’ all wise and vengeful.
Tyrese, may not be a talented actor, but he does his part all rightl as in I can’t think of any other man for the job.
And hottie Natalie Martinez reminds me of why I love Latina girls in the first place.

Gotta save the best for last. If you wanna give a standing ovation or a round of applause at the end of the movie, dedicate it to the stunt people who risked their lives to give us the crashes, the flips, and the pyro visual, the things they accomplish are simply extraordinary!
The cars, though they look like post-apocalypse pieces of metal put together, they’re actually the main dish and they will serve you well.
DEATH RACE does not waste time on sentimentality, it begins with an adrenaline rush sequence, gives a 15-20 minute background plot and then bam! It takes you on a thrill ride and all the three stages happen one after another without mercy whatsoever.
This is entertainment! I love this game!

* Place the cursor on the image below to check my grade for this film