The first thing to note about “Death Race” is that it’s good to see Roger Corman’s name on a big movie. The legendary maestro of countless drive-in pictures such as “Attack of the Crab Monsters” and the pre-musical “Little Shop of Horrors” is listed as an executive producer of this new action flick, a remake of his 1975 satire “Death Race 2000.”
“Death Race 2000” was a violent and funny movie with pulpy roles for David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone. All trace of social satire has been expunged from the new take, which is a straightforward head-cruncher.
Actually, that’s what’s good about “Death Race”: It wastes absolutely no time on anything other than its own forward motion. After a brief bit of backstory involving a once-great car racer (Jason Statham) framed for his wife’s murder, we move to the slimy maximum-security prison where he’s jailed.
The prison happens to be the base for a top-rated reality show, in which prisoners race each other in souped-up cars … to the death. The vehicles in this movie are so freighted with giant shields, cannons and all manner of hardware, it’s a wonder they can even turn a corner.
They’re all hard to distinguish from each other, which seems like a missed bet — surely part of the appeal of NASCAR is the tribal coloring for each team. In “Death Race,” you can barely tell the vehicles apart in all the rapidly edited mayhem.
Every movie prison must have an evil warden, and this one boasts Oscar nominee Joan Allen, utilizing her frosty gaze to good effect. She wants Statham to step into the role of a driver called Frankenstein, a masked man who was actually killed in a previous race. Since nobody saw his face, it doesn’t really matter what Statham looks like, just that he can drive.
Instead of the cross-country contest of the original film, “Death Race” has a somewhat monotonous circular course around the prison. Director Paul W.S. Anderson, of “Resident Evil” fame, manages to cram in a healthy number of crashes, fiery explosions and surprise beheadings anyway.
Statham is solid as ever in executing this kind of grim hero, and Natalie Martinez is attractive as his “navigator.” Killing time, but nevertheless adding some much-needed suavity and humor, is Ian McShane (“Deadwood”) as Frankenstein’s mechanic.
“Death Race” is machine-like in its march, but at least it’s not bloated, and it’s certainly better than the sleazy moral waffling of “The Condemned.” But don’t worry: This film has sleaze aplenty.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
