Death Race

English/2008/106 Minutes/Unrated

Some kinds of movies are review proof like the Friday the 13th sequels or the 90s Batman movies. They exist as cinematic candy, guilty pleasures, and empty calories. Death Race is such a movie. It makes no pretense of being a good film and is technically deficient in many areas. It is by far the least of the films in Paul Anderson's oeuvre (if you're allowed to use such a fancy word in a review of a movie like this).

The story is very basic and certain elements strain what little credibility the movie has. Jensen Ames (Jason Statham in full beefcake mode) is a former race driver who is framed for the murder of his wife and sent to prison where he is recruited by Hennessey, the wicked warden (played by an icy Joan Allen), to compete in a “Death Race.” The race is essentially a demo derby version of Nascar with guns. Players compete for their freedom (as every prisoner has since “The Running Man”) by winning the race and/or killing all the competitors. All of this is streamed live to the viewing audience who, even in a collapsed economy, can afford the $250 to watch the pay-per-view special

There are even “power ups” to collect that are basically sensors drivers run over to activate their weapons. It all sounds very video game like (in a rudimentary way) but I think it would probably be an accurate version of what a game show of this sort would resemble. The races themselves are competently filmed but none of the compositions stand out. It feels haphazard in much of the film. The directing shines in small moments like the detailed assembling of a bomb (which brought back memories of the opening of “Resident Evil.”)

The cast is excellent although some are perhaps surprising to see in a movie of this sort. Joan Allen as the warden plays mean but one dimensional as a woman who is out to keep high ratings and kill anyone who gets in her way. In fact, hearing Allen say “cocksucker” is perhaps a highlight of the film (it is even repeated at the end of the credits).

Another surprise face is Ian McShane. He of “Deadwood” fame and an actor I really like to see. He plays the stereotypical role of the old convict who doesn't want to leave the prison. He makes the most of the role and lends some gravity to the proceedings that keep reminding me of what the movie could have been. Between McShane and Allen there is a lot of potential here, but it's mostly wasted.

As for Statham himself I enjoyed his performance and in the early scenes we got to see some more of the spectrum of his range instead of the cool detachment he's banked on since “The Transporter.” Statham is a good genre actor but when put face to face with McShane or Allen he just doesn't seem to rise to the occasion.

As with any prison film you have a colorful assortment of villains each having his own particular gimmick including a guy named Grim who calls himself Grim Reaper (I think there must be a clause in the book about movies like this where you have to have a guy called “grim” or “reaper”). There is the on track villain of the piece Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson) who carves a notch in his face every time he kills someone. You get the idea.

For a love interest (or lust interest) the drivers are always paired up with beautiful ladies from the women's prison who act as navigators and handle some of the weapons (like the classic oil slick). Of course there are no fat or ugly women in prison so our hero gets hooked up with a well tanned nicely endowed hot girl (Natalie Martinez). I don't think it's coincidence that the hero loses a kind and attractive loving wife for a “bad girl” that looks like she stepped out of a men's magazine. Ultimately I think that's what is most offensive about the movie. The implication that somehow the hero is better off for all of this. His revenge while cinematically interesting feels rather hollow and the ending is tacked on.

The emphasis on spectacle, graphic kills and blatant misogyny and homophobia (one racer has a male copilot and it is implied he is gay) make this perhaps the most offensive and least pleasing of Anderson's films. The movie is edited in a way that rarely lets your eyes rest and the soundtrack while sonically interesting just hammers away from the opening credits and we never get a moment of silence until the end of the credits. The movie has no sense of moderation, the tone always being full tilt.

The movie ultimately doesn't work as a prison film (too little prison), fails as a racing film (the races are so chopped up it's hard to tell the locations and status of the drivers), and is rather thin as a revenge flick. That being said it's still a lot of fun and I would list as a guilty pleasure. So while the official word is Not Recommended, I have to say watching shit blow up for 90 minutes is a lot of fun and in that department, Death Race delivers.

Unrated: Mature Audiences, Strong Violence and Language