Saturday, December 21, 2013

Death Race (2008)

Universal Pictures
Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Universal)

Roger Corman's Death Race 2000 gets updated for the ADD crowd. In the near future (2012, none of the predictions came true, by the way) streaming video of a 3-day, no-holds-barred race in which prisoners vie for a chance at freedom becomes an internet sensation. Jason Statham is framed for murder in order to become the latest incarnation of "Frankenstein", the most popular driver. In an obvious plot twist, the prison warden turns out to be the one responsible and becomes his prime target for revenge. First, he must survive the race. The movie lurches from one frenetic scene to another, with quiet moments in between providing what little characterization it does offer. Statham's one-note performance really drags it down, he mumbles his way through one-liners, never once breaking his stone-faced, macho stance. The other characters rarely rise above cliches. Nonetheless, it's entertaining, in a mindless, escapist sort of way.

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